Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $196.6429.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EA shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Argus downgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.1%

Electronic Arts stock opened at $203.12 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.38. The company has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.65. Electronic Arts has a 52-week low of $146.97 and a 52-week high of $204.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 21.78%.

Key Stories Impacting Electronic Arts

Here are the key news stories impacting Electronic Arts this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EA is creating a new advertising platform that could unlock incremental revenue by bringing brands into its games and live experiences. Electronic Arts Introduces EA Advertising, Launching Brands Directly Into Gameplay and Live Experiences
• Neutral Sentiment: Management says the ads will be integrated in a “non-disruptive” way, suggesting EA is trying to balance monetization with player retention. Electronic Arts launches EA Advertising, a new way for brands to connect with fans through its games
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors and players may worry that a bigger ad push could make EA’s games feel more commercial, potentially hurting user sentiment and engagement. Electronic Arts Announces Plans To Cram Far More Advertising Into Its Games

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.81, for a total transaction of $240,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,560 shares in the company, valued at $5,534,323.60. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total value of $1,005,950.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,206 shares of company stock worth $6,293,083. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EA. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 167.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,306 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 12,076 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 150.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,323,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 96.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.