Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Earns Outperform Rating from Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $170.00 price target on the game software company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on EA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a hold rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday. Roth Mkm reissued a neutral rating and set a $154.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Electronic Arts from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $161.94.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ EA opened at $139.55 on Thursday. Electronic Arts has a 12-month low of $117.47 and a 12-month high of $153.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $37.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.06. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total transaction of $350,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,660,634.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.86, for a total transaction of $144,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,246,860.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total transaction of $350,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,660,634.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,570 shares of company stock worth $4,183,508 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 14.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,159,718 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $3,868,620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,727,251 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,901,257 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $782,920,000 after buying an additional 833,492 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in Electronic Arts by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,283,539 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $596,825,000 after acquiring an additional 53,237 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 0.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,185,476 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $583,162,000 after acquiring an additional 18,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its position in Electronic Arts by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,428,193 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $469,011,000 after purchasing an additional 145,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.