Electronic Arts Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:EA)

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 37,868 call options on the company. This is an increase of 352% compared to the average volume of 8,382 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $740,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total transaction of $327,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,216,256.62. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,194,240. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 33,521 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at $1,463,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 14,598 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth $71,872,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth about $236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark reduced their price target on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ascendiant Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.78.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $142.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.24 billion, a PE ratio of 36.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $168.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.81 and a 200 day moving average of $144.80.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.34%.

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.