ING Groep NV Grows Stock Holdings in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)

ING Groep NV raised its stake in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) by 225.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 119,055 shares of the game software company’s stock after buying an additional 82,522 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Electronic Arts were worth $17,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 592.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 263 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ EA opened at $164.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.19, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.92 and a 52 week high of $164.42.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.03, for a total value of $395,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,969,926.99. This trade represents a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $186,946.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,120,638.61. This trade represents a 14.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,144 shares of company stock worth $3,886,282. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EA. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.37.

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.