National Bank of Canada FI Has $71.88 Million Stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 146.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 491,286 shares of the game software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 292,309 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $71,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 141.0% in the 4th 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 period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Electronic Arts from $158.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Ascendiant Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of EA opened at $145.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.96 billion, a PE ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $133.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced 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, analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Electronic Arts news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 28,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,443,198.48. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.83, for a total value of $327,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,514 shares in the company, valued at $6,216,256.62. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,018,560 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% 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.