Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, an increase of 10.8% from the August 15th total of 3,060,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.
Electronic Arts Stock Performance
Electronic Arts stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $122.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,721,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,328,361. The firm has a market cap of $34.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a twelve month low of $109.24 and a twelve month high of $146.72.
Electronic Arts Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 30th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Sunday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.64.
Insider Activity at Electronic Arts
In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.90, for a total value of $96,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,447,342.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Electronic Arts news, COO Laura Miele sold 11,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.93, for a total transaction of $1,435,725.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 35,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,291,936. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.90, for a total transaction of $96,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,447,342.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,901 shares of company stock worth $12,015,172 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 2,500 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth about $603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Electronic Arts by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,355,903 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $178,845,000 after acquiring an additional 34,067 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Electronic Arts by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Electronic Arts by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,007,133 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $658,845,000 after acquiring an additional 54,417 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.65% of the company’s stock.
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.