Kentucky Retirement Systems Takes Position in Hasbro, Inc. $HAS

Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new position in shares of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HAS. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas increased its position in Hasbro by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 14,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hasbro during the 1st quarter valued at about $986,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 545,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,072,000 after buying an additional 36,852 shares during the last quarter. Opal Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hasbro in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $612,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Hasbro by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,699,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,079,000 after buying an additional 296,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.83% of the company’s stock.

Hasbro Stock Down 0.6%

Hasbro stock opened at $93.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.16, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Hasbro, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.50 and a fifty-two week high of $106.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.61.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Hasbro had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 141.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Hasbro, Inc. will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Hasbro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Hasbro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.36%.

Insider Activity at Hasbro

In other Hasbro news, insider Timothy J. Kilpin sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $1,862,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 54,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,804.48. This trade represents a 26.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Gina M. Goetter sold 8,265 shares of Hasbro stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $776,579.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,501,672.44. This represents a 9.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 42,451 shares of company stock worth $3,987,379 in the last 90 days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Hasbro

Here are the key news stories impacting Hasbro this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $109.07 versus recent trading levels. Twelve analysts rate Hasbro a Buy, compared with three Holds and one Sell. Hasbro receives Moderate Buy consensus
• Positive Sentiment: Wizards of the Coast unveiled new Dungeons & Dragons initiatives, including a World of Warcraft crossover launching in November, along with planned Dark Sun and Star Wars experiences. The announcements could strengthen Hasbro’s licensing, gaming and fan-engagement opportunities. Dungeons and Dragons announcements
• Positive Sentiment: Hasbro prevailed in a long-running copyright dispute involving Peppa Pig and Vietnam’s Wolfoo, protecting an important intellectual-property asset and potentially limiting unauthorized competition. Peppa Pig copyright case
• Positive Sentiment: New Transformers: Age of the Primes action figures provide additional product support for one of Hasbro’s major brands. Transformers action figures
• Neutral Sentiment: Hasbro declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70, or $2.80 annually, representing an approximately 3% yield. The dividend is payable September 2 to shareholders of record August 19.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling may weigh on sentiment: CFO Gina Goetter sold 11,000 shares for about $1.05 million, while John Hight sold 3,186 shares for roughly $299,000. Timothy J. Kilpin also sold 20,000 shares, although that transaction was reported as being to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. Hasbro insider sales

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HAS. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Hasbro from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hasbro from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Hasbro from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Hasbro from $125.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Hasbro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.07.

About Hasbro

Hasbro, Inc is a global play and entertainment company, known for designing, manufacturing and marketing a diverse portfolio of toys, games and consumer products. Founded in 1923 as Hassenfeld Brothers and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the company has grown into one of the foremost names in the toy industry, with a presence in retail, digital and entertainment channels worldwide.

The company’s brand portfolio features iconic properties such as Monopoly, Play-Doh, Nerf, My Little Pony and Transformers.