EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 111 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,689 shares of the game software company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $235,224,000 after acquiring an additional 95,190 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 338,870 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $49,577,000 after purchasing an additional 80,968 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $213,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth $3,730,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 1.5 %

Electronic Arts stock opened at $153.30 on Friday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $168.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $143.36 and a 200-day moving average of $144.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74.

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 net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.14, for a total transaction of $650,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 37,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,216.10. This trade represents a 11.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,118,120 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EA. Raymond James downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Ascendiant Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark upped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $179.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.83.

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.