Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 2,899 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,605 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 2,899 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $8,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 31.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.78.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 1.8 %

EA stock opened at $137.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.21 and a 1-year high of $168.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $133.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.09.

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

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total transaction of $147,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,216 shares in the company, valued at $4,311,405.12. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $234,405.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,888,935.22. The trade was a 5.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,428,645. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Profile

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.