Hasbro boosts stock buyback program by $500 million
Shares of Hasbro Inc. rose 1% in morning trade Thursday, with gains accelerating after the toymaker said it added $500 million to its stock repurchase program. Just before the announcement, the stock was up 0.4%. At current prices, the increase would allow the company to buyback up to an additional 5.6 million shares, or about 4.5% of the shares outstanding. Hasbro said at the end of the first quarter, it had $139.2 million remaining in its share repurchase program. Separately, the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of 63 cents a share, payable Aug. 15 to shareholders of record on Aug. 1. Hasbro’s dividend yield is currently 2.83%, compared with the implied yield for the S&P 500 of 1.93%, according to FactSet. Hasbro shares have tumbled 9.8% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has eased 0.1%.