Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $121.25, but opened at $127.04. Electronic Arts shares last traded at $127.12, with a volume of 1,035,495 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 19.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EA. Oppenheimer dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.24.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 7.6 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $34.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.79.

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 14.12% and a return on equity of 18.56%. Sell-side analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total transaction of $244,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,814,688. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total transaction of $832,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,758,819.05. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,562,510. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.1% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 812 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Electronic Arts by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.