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

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 37,868 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 352% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,382 call options.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In other news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.18, for a total value of $148,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,575. This trade represents a 10.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,047,020. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,000 shares of company stock worth $3,194,240. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on EA shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James lowered shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Ascendiant Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.78.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 3.0 %

EA stock traded up $4.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $142.90. 4,510,525 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,389,224. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Electronic Arts has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $168.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.24 billion, a PE ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $132.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.85.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.