2,133 Shares in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,133 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,671,657 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $954,358,000 after purchasing an additional 26,505 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,639,691 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $367,789,000 after buying an additional 53,800 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 28.1% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 940,942 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $134,969,000 after buying an additional 206,623 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,899 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $124,548,000 after buying an additional 66,797 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 858,840 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $123,484,000 after acquiring an additional 319,335 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Electronic Arts news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.18, for a total transaction of $148,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,575. This trade represents a 10.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total transaction of $713,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 42,615 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,308.20. This trade represents 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday. Argus upped their price target on Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.79.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA stock opened at $116.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $168.50. The company has a market cap of $30.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.88.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

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.