Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys 3,064 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Machina Capital S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 109.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,876 shares of the game software company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 31.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 812 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $140.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.66 and a 200-day moving average of $145.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.50 billion, a PE ratio of 35.63, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 research analysts predict that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 19.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,886 shares in the company, valued at $3,888,935.22. This represents a 5.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total transaction of $122,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,443,198.48. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.78.

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.