Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 221 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,448 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after buying an additional 95,190 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 983.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $36,993,000 after acquiring an additional 234,098 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,845,000. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 64,170 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $9,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,058 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:EA opened at $130.93 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $168.50. The company has a market cap of $34.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $137.09 and a 200-day moving average of $146.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is 19.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.55.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $740,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,615 shares in the company, valued at $7,047,020. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.11, for a total transaction of $130,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,238,126.76. This trade represents a 9.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,500 shares of company stock worth $3,593,095 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts 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.