Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $34.33 Million Investment in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 234,685 shares of the game software company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,334,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 31.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $740,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,047,020. This trade represents a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total transaction of $147,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,311,405.12. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,428,645 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of EA opened at $137.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $168.50. The company has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.17 and a 200 day moving average of $145.03.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on EA shares. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas downgraded Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.78.

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.