Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Increases Stock Position in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 300.3% during the first quarter, holding over 1.45 million shares valued at approximately $210.13 million.
• Electronic Arts announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19, payable on September 17th to shareholders of record as of August 27th, representing a 0.4% dividend yield.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $167.12 among analysts, reflecting growing investor confidence in the company.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Free Report) by 300.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,454,006 shares of the game software company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,090,769 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.56% of Electronic Arts worth $210,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 7.3% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 261.5% in the first quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 342,783 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $49,539,000 after purchasing an additional 247,965 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 10.6% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 25,560 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $3,694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 58.3% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,974 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Agricole S A raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.4% in the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 94,023 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $13,585,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company's stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA opened at $171.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.96, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $158.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.70. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $180.90.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts 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 owned 37,131 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,508.43. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction 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 $2,589,848.40. The trade was a 6.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,200 shares of company stock valued at $4,142,660. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EA. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $153.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Moffett Nathanson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $167.12.

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.

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