Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Upgraded by HSBC to “Buy” Rating

HSBC upgraded shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $190.00 price objective on the game software company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on EA. Citigroup lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.63.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.6 %

EA stock opened at $155.50 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $142.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.78. The company has a market cap of $40.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74. Electronic Arts has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $168.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.14, for a total transaction of $650,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,216.10. This represents a 11.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.65, for a total transaction of $218,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,772,156.45. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,729,195. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EA. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,156,791 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,778,553,000 after acquiring an additional 605,796 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 30,929 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Electronic Arts by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,430,409 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $648,169,000 after purchasing an additional 270,991 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Electronic Arts by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,257,281 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $476,540,000 after purchasing an additional 360,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,228,721 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $472,362,000 after buying an additional 120,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

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.