Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Downgraded to “Market Perform” Rating by BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $145.00 target price on the game software company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $160.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Electronic Arts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.79.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 16.7 %

NASDAQ:EA opened at $118.58 on Thursday. Electronic Arts has a 1 year low of $115.45 and a 1 year high of $168.50. The stock has a market cap of $31.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.99.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.03, for a total value of $395,075.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,433 shares in the company, valued at $7,969,926.99. The trade was a 4.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.83, for a total transaction of $150,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,897.70. The trade was a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,000 shares of company stock worth $3,986,385. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EA. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 983.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $36,993,000 after purchasing an additional 234,098 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 20.8% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 64,170 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $9,205,000 after buying an additional 11,058 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $12,078,000 after buying an additional 4,702 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the third quarter worth approximately $5,597,000. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $950,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% 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.