Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 4,497 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,497 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 31.8% during 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. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 812 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,837 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on EA shares. Raymond James cut Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.65.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $144.55 on Tuesday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $168.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $37.67 billion, a PE ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.61.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.34%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total value of $327,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,216,256.62. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total transaction of $713,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 42,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,308.20. This represents a 10.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,166,740. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.