Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Position in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 347,038 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 61,542 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $47,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EA. Bray Capital Advisors grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 100.0% in the third quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 220 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 269.1% during the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 212,585 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 154,989 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EA shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $162.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.19, for a total transaction of $317,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 23,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,061.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.19, for a total value of $317,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,061.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Laura Miele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.43, for a total transaction of $274,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,297,651.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,144 shares of company stock worth $5,114,335. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA stock opened at $127.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.56. Electronic Arts Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.47 and a fifty-two week high of $144.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.76.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.38). The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 14.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.