Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases 221 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,448 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 221 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $1,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the third quarter worth $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 1,458.3% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 374 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $130.93 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $34.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.09 and its 200 day moving average is $146.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. Research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $740,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,047,020. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,443,198.48. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,500 shares of company stock worth $3,593,095. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.55.

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.