Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.19

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 30th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.19 per share by the game software company on Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%.

Electronic Arts has increased its dividend payment by an average of 64.7% per year over the last three years. Electronic Arts has a payout ratio of 9.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Electronic Arts to earn $6.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.7%.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EA traded up $1.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.12. The stock had a trading volume of 3,985,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,161,995. The company has a market capitalization of $39.63 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.79. 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’s fifty day moving average is $138.89 and its 200 day moving average is $135.63. Electronic Arts has a 12 month low of $117.47 and a 12 month high of $150.90.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The game software company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.17). The business 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%. Analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 4,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.15, for a total value of $622,321.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,954,110.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 4,639 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.15, for a total transaction of $622,321.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,954,110.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Eric Charles Kelly sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $401,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,507.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,039 shares of company stock worth $3,555,081. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on EA. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.50.

About Electronic Arts

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.