Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $209.27 and last traded at $209.04, with a volume of 112446 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $208.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $52.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 21.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total transaction of $1,005,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total value of $302,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,233,547.76. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 31,206 shares of company stock worth $6,292,058 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EA. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 12.5% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 108,908 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $22,185,000 after acquiring an additional 12,095 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 110,851 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $22,650,000 after purchasing an additional 9,297 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 227,893 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $46,554,000 after acquiring an additional 57,268 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,745,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 500.3% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 47,805 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $9,768,000 after buying an additional 39,841 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.