Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on EA. Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $153.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $154.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $162.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $147.00.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA opened at $138.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.78. Electronic Arts has a twelve month low of $117.47 and a twelve month high of $144.53.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The game software company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 16.83% and a return on equity of 18.81%. Equities analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 29th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 4,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.15, for a total transaction of $622,321.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,954,110.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.82, for a total transaction of $106,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,083 shares in the company, valued at $3,597,164.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 4,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.15, for a total value of $622,321.85. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 66,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,954,110.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,539 shares of company stock valued at $3,089,969. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Electronic Arts by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,485 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,591,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Electronic Arts by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 201,074 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $24,209,000 after acquiring an additional 11,416 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 4,638 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at $607,000. 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.