Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Acquires Shares of 15,938 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 15,938 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EA. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Electronic Arts by 69.7% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,752 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,952 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 829,138 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $118,932,000 after purchasing an additional 87,327 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 152,653 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $21,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 1.2% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,361 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $4,498,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the third quarter valued at $5,597,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA stock opened at $131.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.47. The stock has a market cap of $34.35 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. On average, analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total value of $327,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,216,256.62. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.11, for a total value of $130,110.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,238,126.76. This represents a 9.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,428,645 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.78.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

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.