Westpac Banking Corp Buys 6,879 Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. $EA

Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 56.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,095 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,879 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $3,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EA. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 70.1% in the second quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 328.9% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 67.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 196 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 56.4% in the first quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 208 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $168.00 target price on Electronic Arts and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group set a $210.00 price objective on Electronic Arts and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Cowen cut Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.64.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $201.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.90. Electronic Arts Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.21 and a twelve month high of $203.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business’s revenue was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.40, for a total value of $1,322,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,045,476. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.80, for a total value of $240,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,995,904. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,200 shares of company stock worth $7,149,882. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company 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.