Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors initiated a position in Electronic Arts by purchasing 10,015 shares worth approximately $2.04 million during the first quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.23% of EA’s outstanding shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: EA has a consensus “Hold” rating from 18 analysts, with a consensus price target of $201.42. Shares opened at $208.91, near their 52-week high of $209.41.
• Electronic Arts pays a quarterly dividend of $0.19, or $0.76 annually, yielding approximately 0.4%. Company insiders sold 31,206 shares worth about $6.29 million over the last quarter, with the transactions conducted under pre-arranged trading plans.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,015 shares of the game software company's stock, valued at approximately $2,042,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Electronic Arts from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Electronic Arts to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Argus lowered Electronic Arts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $201.42.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Electronic Arts stock opened at $208.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.86, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $204.70 and a 200-day moving average of $202.89. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.87 and a 1 year high of $209.41.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.78%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $507,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,930,490.30. This trade represents a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.00, for a total transaction of $243,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,351,080. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,206 shares of company stock valued at $6,292,058. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc NASDAQ: EA is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA's product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.

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