Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 4,350 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,350 shares of the game software company's stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,156,791 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $1,778,553,000 after purchasing an additional 605,796 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,702,586 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $978,650,000 after purchasing an additional 30,929 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,430,409 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $648,169,000 after purchasing an additional 270,991 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,257,281 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $476,540,000 after purchasing an additional 360,563 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,228,721 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $472,362,000 after purchasing an additional 120,632 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.57, for a total value of $388,925.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 40,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,252,202.73. This represents a 5.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.50, for a total transaction of $712,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,647,637.50. This represents a 13.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,729 shares of company stock worth $4,107,664 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

EA stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $143.22. 5,544,453 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,739,520. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $145.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio is 17.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EA. DA Davidson began coverage on Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush increased their price target on Electronic Arts from $179.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Fifteen research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.88.

Electronic Arts 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.