Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by Bank of America

Bank of America lowered shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $130.00 target price on the game software company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $170.00.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $154.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.79.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 16.7 %

Shares of 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’s fifty day moving average price is $153.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.99. The company has a market cap of $31.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $148,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,575. This represents a 10.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total value of $713,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 42,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,080,308.20. This represents a 10.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,000 shares of company stock worth $3,986,385 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 141.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Electronic Arts during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Electronic Arts by 156.6% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 272 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 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.