Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Short Interest Update

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,350,000 shares, a drop of 11.3% from the November 15th total of 7,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,840,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $164,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,216 shares in the company, valued at $4,969,021.20. The trade was a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $234,405.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,935.22. This represents a 5.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,100,805 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,671,657 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $954,358,000 after acquiring an additional 26,505 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,283,539 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $596,825,000 after purchasing an additional 53,237 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Electronic Arts by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,185,476 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $583,162,000 after purchasing an additional 18,376 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,639,691 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $367,789,000 after buying an additional 53,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,088,170 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $290,945,000 after buying an additional 76,621 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $154.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.37.

Electronic Arts Stock Down 1.0 %

Electronic Arts stock traded down $1.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $154.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,085,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,055,084. The company has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.93. Electronic Arts has a one year low of $124.92 and a one year high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.54%.

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.