Hasbro, Inc. $HAS Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Hasbro stake by 2.5% in the first quarter, selling 92,645 shares while retaining 3.57 million shares valued at approximately $334.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.83% of Hasbro.
• Hasbro’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $1.28 per share versus a $1.16 estimate and revenue of $1.14 billion, up 16.2% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $109.07.
• Insiders have been selling shares: executives sold 42,451 shares worth about $3.99 million over the past three months. Hasbro also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, equivalent to a 3.0% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE cut its position in shares of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,569,564 shares of the company's stock after selling 92,645 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 2.52% of Hasbro worth $334,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hasbro by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,976,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,392,088,000 after purchasing an additional 453,038 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Hasbro by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,508,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $480,424,000 after purchasing an additional 131,678 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hasbro by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,357,147 shares of the company's stock worth $357,286,000 after buying an additional 1,399,499 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hasbro by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,661,020 shares of the company's stock worth $299,700,000 after buying an additional 122,592 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Hasbro by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,225,875 shares of the company's stock worth $264,522,000 after buying an additional 162,354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on HAS shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Hasbro from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Hasbro from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Hasbro from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Hasbro from $125.00 to $111.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Hasbro in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hasbro has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.07.

Insider Activity at Hasbro

In other Hasbro news, insider John Hight sold 3,186 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.71, for a total transaction of $298,560.06. Following the transaction, the insider owned 67,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,330,766.47. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gina M. Goetter sold 8,265 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,501,672.44. The trade was a 9.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,451 shares of company stock worth $3,987,379. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

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

Hasbro Stock Performance

NASDAQ HAS opened at $93.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.16, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.66. Hasbro, Inc. has a one year low of $69.50 and a one year high of $106.98. The company's 50 day moving average price is $84.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.63.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.12. Hasbro had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 141.11%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Hasbro's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hasbro, Inc. will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Hasbro Announces Dividend

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

Hasbro Company Profile

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.

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