Optimize Financial Inc Acquires New Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,761 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA raised its position in Electronic Arts by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,475 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 812 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position 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 worth $550,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,837 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ EA opened at $142.93 on Friday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.21 and a 12-month high of $168.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $37.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. On average, analysts forecast that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EA. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.30.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,216 shares in the company, valued at $3,801,320. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.45, for a total value of $215,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,354,721.70. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,000 shares of company stock worth $3,015,990 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.