Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 2,415 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 45,557 shares of the game software company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,415 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $6,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EA. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,466 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,459 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 14,997 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 866,675 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $109,653,000 after buying an additional 13,934 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential PLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 208.9% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 14,112 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,785,000 after acquiring an additional 9,544 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on EA. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $162.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Electronic Arts in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of EA stock opened at $127.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $134.75 and a 200 day moving average of $134.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.76. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.47 and a 1-year high of $144.53.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.38). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $128,210.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,362,397.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.88, for a total value of $347,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 30,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,295,558.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $128,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,426 shares in the company, valued at $2,362,397.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,144 shares of company stock valued at $5,143,560 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.