M&G Plc Trims Holdings in Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS)

M&G Plc cut its stake in Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) by 96.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201,863 shares during the period. M&G Plc’s holdings in Hasbro were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Hasbro during the fourth quarter valued at $403,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 215.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 271,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,878,000 after purchasing an additional 185,705 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hasbro by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 2,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hasbro by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares during the period. 91.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Tarrant L. Sibley sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $783,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,193,960.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HAS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hasbro from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hasbro from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Hasbro from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Hasbro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Hasbro from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.64.

Hasbro Stock Performance

Shares of HAS opened at $64.07 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.31. The company has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of -6.32, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.62. Hasbro, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.66 and a 52 week high of $73.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.44. Hasbro had a positive return on equity of 38.83% and a negative net margin of 22.78%. The company had revenue of $995.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $941.38 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Hasbro, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hasbro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. Hasbro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -27.61%.

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.