Bank of America Raises Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Price Target to $170.00

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the game software company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $154.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Electronic Arts from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $160.16.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA stock opened at $148.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $117.47 and a 52 week high of $153.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $140.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.98. The company has a market capitalization of $39.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 16.26%. On average, analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 16.24%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, CAO Eric Charles Kelly sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $401,250.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,507.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.42, for a total value of $356,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,437,957.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Eric Charles Kelly sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $401,250.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,507.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,239 shares of company stock worth $3,197,469 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 14.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,159,718 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $3,868,620,000 after acquiring an additional 3,727,251 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,901,257 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $782,920,000 after purchasing an additional 833,492 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 1.3% during 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 buying an additional 53,237 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,428,193 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $469,011,000 after buying an additional 145,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 496.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,511,250 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $333,169,000 after buying an additional 2,090,504 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.