Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Cut to “Market Perform” at Raymond James

Raymond James lowered shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.79.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA stock opened at $116.56 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $152.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. Electronic Arts has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $168.50. The firm has a market cap of $30.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.80.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.18, for a total value of $148,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,575. This represents a 10.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total transaction of $713,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 42,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,308.20. The trade was a 10.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,000 shares of company stock worth $3,986,385. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EA. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 983.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $36,993,000 after purchasing an additional 234,098 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 20.8% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 64,170 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $9,205,000 after buying an additional 11,058 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $12,078,000 after buying an additional 4,702 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the third quarter worth approximately $5,597,000. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $950,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.