Avanza Fonder AB Acquires Shares of 18,253 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 18,253 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,670,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 43.3% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,390,418 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $193,727,000 after purchasing an additional 420,382 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 59.2% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 858,840 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $123,484,000 after buying an additional 319,335 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 8,503.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 318,085 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $45,626,000 after buying an additional 314,388 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,154,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 983.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $36,993,000 after acquiring an additional 234,098 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on EA shares. DZ Bank upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Electronic Arts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $364,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,548,334.89. This trade represents a 4.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.45, for a total value of $215,175.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,354,721.70. The trade was a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,500 shares of company stock worth $3,637,660 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:EA opened at $142.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.50, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.80. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.92 and a 52 week high of $168.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $155.38 and a 200 day moving average of $149.04.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.54%.

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.