Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA – Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,410,000 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the July 15th total of 4,690,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $159.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.64.
Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts
In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $683,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 77,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,628,709.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Eric Charles Kelly sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.19, for a total value of $250,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $765,161.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $683,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,628,709.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,203 shares of company stock worth $3,334,092. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 2,274.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 831 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,932,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 34.2% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 678,759 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $88,544,000 after acquiring an additional 173,058 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the second quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Finally, Invesco LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the second quarter valued at approximately $661,000. 88.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.6 %
Electronic Arts stock opened at $120.68 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $108.53 and a 52 week high of $140.30. The company has a market capitalization of $32.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.77.
Electronic Arts Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 29th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.53%.
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.