Royal Bank of Canada Buys 134,600 Shares of Hasbro, Inc. $HAS

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) by 50.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 402,365 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134,600 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Hasbro were worth $37,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hasbro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,748,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Hasbro by 128.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,981,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,089,000 after buying an additional 1,677,962 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hasbro by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,357,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,286,000 after buying an additional 1,399,499 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Hasbro by 454.3% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 727,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,085,000 after acquiring an additional 596,167 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hasbro in the 1st quarter worth $47,671,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Hight sold 3,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.71, for a total value of $298,560.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,330,766.47. This represents 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, insider Timothy J. Kilpin sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 54,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,804.48. This trade represents a 26.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,451 shares of company stock worth $3,987,379. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HAS shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hasbro from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hasbro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Hasbro from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Hasbro from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Hasbro in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.07.

Hasbro Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HAS opened at $91.47 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.54 and its 200-day moving average is $90.67. Hasbro, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.50 and a 52-week high of $106.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.16, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.47.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hasbro, Inc. will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Hasbro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hasbro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.36%.

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.