Hasbro, Inc. $HAS Stake Lessened by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd reduced its Hasbro stake by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 52,949 shares and leaving it with 288,569 shares worth about $23.7 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Hasbro, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $113.07, though some firms recently adjusted their targets up or down.
• Hasbro reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $1.51 versus estimates of $0.99 and revenue of $1.45 billion, while insiders also sold shares during the quarter.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 288,569 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,949 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.21% of Hasbro worth $23,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Hasbro by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 4,733 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Hasbro by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,936 shares of the company's stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hasbro in the fourth quarter worth about $543,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hasbro by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 153,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,738,000 after acquiring an additional 6,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hasbro in the 4th quarter valued at about $325,000. 91.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HAS shares. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Hasbro from $118.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Hasbro from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hasbro from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Hasbro from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Hasbro from $90.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hasbro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.07.

Hasbro Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:HAS opened at $95.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.89. Hasbro, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.00 and a 1-year high of $106.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.48.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Hasbro had a positive return on equity of 127.21% and a negative net margin of 6.86%.Hasbro's revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hasbro, Inc. will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hasbro news, EVP Tarrant L. Sibley sold 15,148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.98, for a total transaction of $1,590,237.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 50,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,267,266.52. This represents a 23.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christian P. Cocks sold 196,411 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.33, for a total value of $19,705,915.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 303,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,431,092.30. This trade represents a 39.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 413,342 shares of company stock valued at $42,241,679 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

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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