Arete Upgrades Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) to Buy

Key Points

• Electronic Arts has been upgraded from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating by Arete, with a price target of $192.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.17% from the previous close.
• Currently, Electronic Arts has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with the majority rating it as "hold" and a few issuing "buy" ratings.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Andrew Wilson selling over 6,500 shares, indicating a 8.57% decrease in his position, highlighting a cautious sentiment among company insiders.

Arete upgraded shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $192.00 target price on the game software company's stock.

EA has been the topic of several other research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Electronic Arts from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Electronic Arts from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $167.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.35.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EA traded up $2.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $163.00. 2,597,063 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,810,392. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $40.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.85, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.64. Electronic Arts has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.05%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.53, for a total value of $159,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,923,508.43. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.32, for a total transaction of $151,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,199,133.56. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,229 shares of company stock valued at $5,066,049. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 197.5% during the first 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 first quarter worth $225,102,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the first quarter worth $203,537,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 62.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company's stock worth $470,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,194 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 3,477.8% in the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,163,747 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $168,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,220 shares in 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.