Sovran Advisors LLC Takes Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,509 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 31.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Electronic Arts by 1,458.3% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 374 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $832,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,758,819.05. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $164,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,969,021.20. This represents a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,644,635. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA stock opened at $129.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $141.18 and its 200-day moving average is $147.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. Equities research analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EA shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BNP Paribas cut Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.24.

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.