Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Electronic Arts Call Options (NASDAQ:EA)

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 37,868 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 352% compared to the typical volume of 8,382 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Ascendiant Capital Markets upped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Moffett Nathanson raised Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas cut Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Electronic Arts from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total value of $122,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,443,198.48. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.14, for a total value of $650,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,216.10. This represents a 11.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,194,240. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,607,817 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $235,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,190 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,520 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $213,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,153 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,730,000. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter valued at about $13,845,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA opened at $141.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $132.75 and a 200-day moving average of $144.73. The company has a market cap of $36.97 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. Electronic Arts has a one year low of $115.21 and a one year high of $168.50.

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

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.34%.

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.