Hasbro to buy back $500M in stock

By PBN Staff

PAWTUCKET – Hasbro Inc., the world’s second-largest toymaker, said Thursday its board of directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $500 million of its common stock.

The board also announced a quarterly cash dividend of 30 cents per common share payable Aug. 15.

“The additional $500 million share repurchase authorization, coupled with our recently announced 20 percent increase in our quarterly dividend, underscores [our] steadfast commitment … to return cash to our shareholders, while also investing in the long-term growth of our business,” said Deborah Thomas, chief financial officer.

The share buyback program began in June 2005; Hasbro has repurchased 79.4 million shares for an average price of $29.01 per share, totaling $2.3 billion.