Brokerages Set Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Target Price at $154.55

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $154.55.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Electronic Arts stock opened at $131.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts has a 1-year low of $115.21 and a 1-year high of $168.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $136.18 and its 200 day moving average is $146.06.

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

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $164,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,969,021.20. The trade was a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total transaction of $327,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,216,256.62. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,593,095. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 353.4% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,269,258 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $185,692,000 after purchasing an additional 989,319 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Electronic Arts by 224.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,207,854 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $176,709,000 after buying an additional 835,985 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,201,353 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $175,758,000 after acquiring an additional 679,032 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,698,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,156,791 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,778,553,000 after acquiring an additional 605,796 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

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.