Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 234,685 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,334,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its position in Electronic Arts by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after acquiring an additional 95,190 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth $217,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 338,870 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $49,577,000 after buying an additional 80,968 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $213,089,000 after buying an additional 36,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,730,000. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $138.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.30.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

EA stock opened at $142.97 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.34. The company has a market capitalization of $37.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.21 and a 52-week high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. Research analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.65, for a total transaction of $218,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,772,156.45. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total value of $713,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 42,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,308.20. This represents a 10.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,290 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.