Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $204.89 and last traded at $204.7950, with a volume of 1596717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $203.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Argus lowered Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $507,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,930,490.30. The trade was a 3.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.12, for a total transaction of $1,015,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,447,438.88. The trade was a 5.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 39,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,060,033 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.4% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 26.7% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 242 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.2% in the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 231 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its position in Electronic Arts by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.