Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Short Interest Down 9.6% in April

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,230,000 shares, a decrease of 9.6% from the April 15th total of 6,890,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total value of $143,240.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,901,755.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total transaction of $210,390.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,894 shares in the company, valued at $686,432.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total value of $143,240.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,901,755.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,272 shares of company stock valued at $4,420,459. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 496.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,511,250 shares of the game software company's stock worth $333,169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,090,504 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,086,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 412,088 shares of the game software company's stock valued at $54,672,000 after purchasing an additional 54,663 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 43.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 85,077 shares of the game software company's stock worth $11,287,000 after purchasing an additional 25,789 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Ltd. CA raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 38.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 60,908 shares of the game software company's stock worth $8,081,000 after buying an additional 16,840 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $154.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.00.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ EA traded up $1.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.62. The stock had a trading volume of 2,222,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,032,035. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $130.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.56. Electronic Arts has a 12 month low of $117.47 and a 12 month high of $144.53. The company has a market capitalization of $34.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.78.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Electronic Arts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.24%.

About Electronic Arts

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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