Ascent Group LLC Takes Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 16,121 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,312,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 6,416.8% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 12,056 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 11,871 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the third quarter valued at $15,180,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 8,503.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 318,085 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $45,626,000 after buying an additional 314,388 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 91.0% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 107,257 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $15,515,000 after buying an additional 51,102 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 11.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,869 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EA. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Electronic Arts to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.37.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 1.4 %

EA stock opened at $165.96 on Tuesday. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.92 and a twelve month high of $168.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $43.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.66, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $151.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.26.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Electronic Arts news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $244,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,814,688. The trade was a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $832,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,758,819.05. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,921,820. Corporate 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.