Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 2,090,504 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 496.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,511,250 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,090,504 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.94% of Electronic Arts worth $333,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 333.3% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 195 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in Electronic Arts by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 4,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.15, for a total value of $622,321.85. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,747 shares in the company, valued at $8,954,110.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $101,312.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,479.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 4,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.15, for a total value of $622,321.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,747 shares in the company, valued at $8,954,110.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,539 shares of company stock worth $3,199,031. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.56.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EA traded up $3.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.18. The company had a trading volume of 2,341,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,101,151. The stock has a market cap of $38.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a one year low of $117.47 and a one year high of $148.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The game software company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 16.83% and a return on equity of 18.81%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 16.24%.

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.