Westpac Banking Corp Buys 3,881 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,121 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 3,881 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $4,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,702,586 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $978,650,000 after buying an additional 30,929 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Electronic Arts by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,430,409 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $648,169,000 after acquiring an additional 270,991 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,990,729 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $431,315,000 after purchasing an additional 122,494 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,789,283 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $261,772,000 after purchasing an additional 23,289 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $235,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,190 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.65.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 0.5 %

EA stock opened at $144.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week high of $168.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.63. The company has a market cap of $37.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total value of $713,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 42,615 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,308.20. This represents a 10.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,801,320. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,015,990 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company 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.