South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Position in Hasbro, Inc. $HAS

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in shares of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,527 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Hasbro were worth $3,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HAS. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Hasbro in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Hasbro in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Hasbro in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Hasbro during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Hasbro during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 91.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hasbro Price Performance

Shares of Hasbro stock opened at $97.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.89. The company has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a PE ratio of -41.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.30 and a 200 day moving average of $83.15. Hasbro, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.00 and a 52 week high of $106.98.

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.52. Hasbro had a negative net margin of 6.86% and a positive return on equity of 127.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hasbro, Inc. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hasbro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hasbro’s payout ratio is currently -119.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HAS. Roth Mkm set a $120.00 price target on shares of Hasbro in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Hasbro from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Hasbro in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Hasbro from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Hasbro from $90.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

Insider Activity at Hasbro

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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 50,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,267,266.52. This represents a 23.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $100.33, for a total value of $19,705,915.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 303,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,431,092.30. This represents a 39.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 413,342 shares of company stock worth $42,241,679 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.