Westpac Banking Corp Has $4.99 Million Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,121 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,881 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $4,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.45, for a total value of $215,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,354,721.70. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,801,320. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,015,990. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EA. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James cut Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Ascendiant Capital Markets upped their price target on Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Electronic Arts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.65.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:EA opened at $144.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $37.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $168.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $133.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

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.