Electronic Arts’ (EA) Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $163.00 price objective on the game software company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set a buy rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wedbush upped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $143.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $161.94.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of EA stock opened at $139.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $37.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.70. Electronic Arts has a one year low of $117.47 and a one year high of $153.51.

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

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.71, for a total value of $111,768.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,389,173.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.58, for a total transaction of $219,870.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,360 shares in the company, valued at $3,863,848.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.71, for a total transaction of $111,768.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,574 shares in the company, valued at $5,389,173.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,570 shares of company stock valued at $4,183,508 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 14.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,159,718 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,868,620,000 after acquiring an additional 3,727,251 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 496.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,511,250 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $333,169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,090,504 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at about $281,054,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the first quarter valued at about $201,935,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the first quarter valued at about $189,055,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.