Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,489 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 812 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of Electronic Arts stock opened at $140.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $36.60 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.16. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.21 and a 1 year high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. Equities analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 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, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EA. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BNP Paribas cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total value of $122,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,216 shares in the company, valued at $3,443,198.48. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $234,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,888,935.22. This trade represents a 5.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,500 shares of company stock worth $3,428,645. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts 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.