Benchmark Cuts Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Price Target to $140.00

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) had its price target lowered by Benchmark from $163.00 to $140.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the game software company’s stock.

EA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Argus raised their price objective on Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DZ Bank raised Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.24.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of EA stock opened at $128.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. Electronic Arts has a 52-week low of $115.21 and a 52-week high of $168.50. The company has a market capitalization of $33.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $143.99 and its 200 day moving average is $147.33.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued 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 return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 14.12%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total transaction of $832,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,758,819.05. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.18, for a total value of $148,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,575. The trade was a 10.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,889,585. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EA. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,671,657 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $954,358,000 after purchasing an additional 26,505 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,990,729 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $431,315,000 after purchasing an additional 122,494 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,789,283 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $261,772,000 after purchasing an additional 23,289 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.5% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 36,153 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.