Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 3,000,437 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 74% from the previous session's volume of 1,724,129 shares.The stock last traded at $75.88 and had previously closed at $76.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Hasbro to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Hasbro in a report on Monday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hasbro from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Hasbro in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Hasbro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.67.

Hasbro Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $68.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.37. Hasbro had a return on equity of 51.39% and a net margin of 9.99%. The firm had revenue of $887.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Hasbro, Inc. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hasbro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Hasbro's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Hasbro by 313.8% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,200,860 shares of the company's stock worth $178,960,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427,299 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hasbro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,359,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Hasbro by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,159,524 shares of the company's stock worth $176,649,000 after purchasing an additional 701,660 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Hasbro by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,643,381 shares of the company's stock worth $147,791,000 after purchasing an additional 507,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Hasbro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,347,000. Institutional investors own 91.83% of the company's stock.

About Hasbro

Hasbro, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a toy and game company in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Australia, China, and Hong Kong. The company operates through Consumer Products; Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming; Entertainment; and Corporate and Other segments.