Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Buys 760 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 87.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,630 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 760 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $4,895,216.10. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.64, for a total value of $224,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,623,638.12. This represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,342,580 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $151.54 on Monday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $168.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $144.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.98. The firm has a market cap of $38.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EA. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Ascendiant Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.29.

Electronic Arts 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.