ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Large Cap Growth ESG Strategy” second quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. The ClearBridge Dividend Strategy outperformed its S&P 500 Index benchmark during the second quarter. On an absolute basis, the Strategy had gains in one of the 11 sectors in which it was invested for the quarter: the health care sector. The IT, financials and materials sectors, meanwhile, were the main detractors. Go over the fund’s top 5 positions to have a glimpse of its finest picks for 2022.
In its Q2 2022 investor letter, ClearBridge Large Cap Growth ESG Strategy mentioned Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1923, Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) is a Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based toy company with a $10.7 billion market capitalization. Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) delivered a -23.45% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -20.49%. The stock closed at $77.91 per share on August 05, 2022.
Here is what ClearBridge Large Cap Growth ESG Strategy has to say about Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“In addition to finding value in engaging on climate risks, net-zero targets and new technologies, we also add value to our investment process with engagements on a variety of governance topics. For example, we have long supported toy and game maker Hasbro’s (NASDAQ:HAS) management and board on strategic, operational and ESG-related topics; the company ranks highly on almost all areas of ESG evaluation, including diversity at board and all-employee levels. We maintain long-term relationships with Hasbro management, and in April 2022, after an activist shareholder started pushing for strategic change at the company, we stepped up our dialogue with senior management and the board.
While we appreciate some of the concerns raised by the activist, we were against most of its suggestions, which we believed would be destructive to long-term shareholder value. We did not believe it was in our best interest to replace three board members with activist-nominated board members — the existing board is replete with talent from the media, technology, content, gaming, entertainment and social media industries.
Over multiple meetings with Hasbro’s CEO and CFO and as many as three board members, our strong relationships helped us better understand what changes would be made where appropriate, and what strategies would remain intact. We had frequent opportunity to share our thoughts on board composition, long-term strategic priorities, compensation, capital allocation and disclosures. All of these became import topics for review during this time. In June 2022 the activist’s proposals were rejected by shareholders. We remain in support of management as it continues on its path of brand-building and growing digital content for its customers.”
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Our calculations show that Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) was in 38 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the second quarter of 2022, compared to 22 funds in the previous quarter. Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) delivered a -15.24% return in the past 3 months.
In August 2022, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q2 page.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
