Private Advisor Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,526 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 82.6% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 25,074 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,327,000 after buying an additional 11,343 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 209.7% in the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 45,985 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $6,101,000 after purchasing an additional 31,136 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Electronic Arts during the first quarter valued at about $1,711,000. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth about $1,259,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 99.4% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 17,338 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 8,644 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ EA opened at $140.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $37.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.47 and a 12-month high of $153.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.66.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its earnings results 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. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total value of $350,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,660,634.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total value of $350,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,660,634.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.58, for a total value of $219,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,863,848.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,570 shares of company stock valued at $4,183,508. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.83.

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.