Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Short Interest Up 12.9% in December

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,170,000 shares, a growth of 12.9% from the November 30th total of 6,350,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total transaction of $143,240.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,181,175.60. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $364,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,548,334.89. This trade represents a 4.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,500 shares of company stock worth $3,635,235 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Larson Financial Group LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 5.1% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 2.9% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 1.6% in the third quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,302 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $154.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BNP Paribas raised Electronic Arts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.37.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:EA traded down $1.58 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $146.54. 1,152,578 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,052,090. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts has a one year low of $124.92 and a one year high of $168.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.54%.

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.