Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wedbush Analyst Says

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) had its price objective upped by Wedbush from $179.00 to $210.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the game software company’s stock.

EA has been the topic of several other research reports. Ascendiant Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. HSBC upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Fifteen 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.83.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:EA opened at $153.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $39.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.01, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $143.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.90. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.14, for a total value of $650,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,216.10. This represents a 11.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.65, for a total value of $218,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,033 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,156.45. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,118,120 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after acquiring an additional 95,190 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 338,870 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $49,577,000 after purchasing an additional 80,968 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $213,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,730,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.