Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from a total of twenty-eight research firms, with an average one-year price target of $167.12.
• CEO Andrew Wilson recently sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $171.05, representing an 8.71% decrease in his position, while insider Laura Miele also sold 2,500 shares.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share to be paid on September 17th, with a current dividend yield of 0.5%.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $167.1154.

EA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Electronic Arts from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Arete Research set a $192.00 price objective on Electronic Arts in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Roth Capital raised Electronic Arts from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $153.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of Electronic Arts stock traded up $2.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $171.93. 907,362 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,393,468. Electronic Arts has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $180.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.06, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,200 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.65, for a total value of $209,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 27,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,758,863.20. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $171,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,589,848.40. This represents a 6.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,900 shares of company stock worth $4,778,597 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 197.5% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,916,693 shares of the game software company's stock worth $421,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,313 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter valued at about $225,102,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter valued at about $203,537,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 62.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $470,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 176.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,898 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $297,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

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.