Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research cut shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Argus lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Electronic Arts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.64.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ EA opened at $206.65 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $202.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.82 billion, a PE ratio of 59.21, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.64. Electronic Arts has a fifty-two week low of $146.97 and a fifty-two week high of $206.82. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 21.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.00, for a total value of $243,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,351,080. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.36, for a total transaction of $302,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,233,547.76. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 31,206 shares of company stock valued at $6,292,058 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tema ETFs LLC grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 8.5% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 3,687 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 235.0% during the 2nd quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $381,000. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 267.6% during the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,010 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,642,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Electronic Arts

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.