Analysts Set Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Price Target at $181.21

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $181.2083.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EA shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Baird R W cut Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Argus set a $210.00 price objective on Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $210.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total transaction of $244,932.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,560 shares in the company, valued at $6,849,931.60. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total transaction of $1,020,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 43,858 shares in the company, valued at $8,951,856.38. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 120,069 shares of company stock valued at $24,169,349 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EA. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 70.1% during the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 100.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 138 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the second quarter worth $30,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 328.9% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.1%

EA stock opened at $204.20 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $203.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $51.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.73. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $204.88.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 12.14%.Electronic Arts’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

About Electronic Arts

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.