Montecito Bank & Trust Invests $819,000 in Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Montecito Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 4,059 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $819,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 197.5% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,916,693 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $421,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,313 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the first quarter valued at approximately $225,102,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 176.6% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,898 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $297,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,455 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 300.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,454,006 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $210,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 5.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,072,959 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $2,726,552,000 after purchasing an additional 932,024 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, Director Jeff Huber sold 79,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.17, for a total value of $15,969,075.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.65, for a total transaction of $302,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,128,231.75. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 141,169 shares of company stock valued at $28,242,586. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of Electronic Arts stock opened at $203.90 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $51.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.76. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.21 and a 1-year high of $204.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $201.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.66.

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

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EA shares. HSBC lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 29th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Cowen cut Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.21.

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.