West Tower Group LLC Makes New Investment in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,000 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $585,000. Electronic Arts accounts for 1.3% of West Tower Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 28.6% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,403 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,486 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $8,963,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 9,077.4% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,051 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 14,887 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.6% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,622 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their price target on Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.78.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $740,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,615 shares in the company, valued at $7,047,020. This represents a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total value of $122,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,216 shares in the company, valued at $3,443,198.48. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,000 shares of company stock worth $3,194,240 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Electronic Arts stock opened at $141.87 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $132.75 and a 200-day moving average of $144.73. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $36.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78.

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 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

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

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.