Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,031 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $6,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EA. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 333.3% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 195 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 102.0% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total transaction of $350,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,747 shares in the company, valued at $8,660,634.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total value of $151,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,190 shares in the company, valued at $4,579,823. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total value of $350,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,660,634.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,070 shares of company stock worth $3,963,638 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of EA opened at $143.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.47 and a twelve month high of $153.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.56.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 16.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on EA. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.28.

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.