Electronic Arts Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:EA)

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 5,437 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 41% compared to the average daily volume of 3,849 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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. Also, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 5,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.19, for a total value of $1,005,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,507,721.53. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 39,906 shares of company stock worth $8,060,033 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,773,086 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $5,879,205,000 after buying an additional 485,030 shares in the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 10,950,000 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $2,237,414,000 after buying an additional 6,150,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,764,572 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,382,030,000 after buying an additional 143,195 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Electronic Arts by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,591,869 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $926,194,000 after acquiring an additional 374,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Electronic Arts by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,314,962 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $870,328,000 after acquiring an additional 202,657 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of Electronic Arts stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.92. 923,758 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,191,135. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Electronic Arts has a 1-year low of $146.97 and a 1-year high of $204.88. The company has a market cap of $50.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.14, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $202.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.38.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 21.78%.

Electronic Arts News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Electronic Arts this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EA launched EA Advertising, a new division aimed at placing brands more directly inside gameplay and live sports experiences. That could open a fresh revenue stream and improve monetization over time. Electronic Arts Introduces EA Advertising, Launching Brands Directly Into Gameplay and Live Experiences
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage around EA’s pending $55 billion take-private deal continues to support the stock, as investors watch for progress and potential completion of the transaction. Electronic Arts (EA) Shows Why Its $55 Billion Buyout Case Rests on More Than Deal Momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Oak-Eagle AcquireCo extended the expiration and settlement dates tied to EA’s senior note tender offers and consent solicitations, indicating the acquisition process is still moving forward, but not yet closed. Oak-Eagle AcquireCo, Inc. Announces Extension of the Expiration Time and Settlement Date
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders, including CEO Andrew Wilson and executive Laura Miele, sold shares this week. The sales were under pre-arranged trading plans, but insider selling can still weigh on sentiment. Andrew Wilson Form 4 filing

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.