Eagle Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Snap-on during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,571,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Snap-on by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,764,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Snap-on by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Snap-on in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,653,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Snap-on by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 158,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,999,000 after buying an additional 28,049 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

Snap-on Stock Performance

Snap-on stock opened at $370.89 on Tuesday. Snap-on Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $252.98 and a fifty-two week high of $372.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a current ratio of 4.18. The stock has a market cap of $19.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $317.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.24.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.12. Snap-on had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 22.13%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, August 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $2.14 dividend. This is an increase from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Snap-on’s payout ratio is presently 44.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Richard Thomas Miller sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.00, for a total transaction of $577,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,061,940. This represents a 35.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Iain Boyd sold 6,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.99, for a total value of $1,807,095.56. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,137,302.07. The trade was a 36.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,531 shares of company stock valued at $6,628,691 over the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SNA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $345.40.

Snap-on Profile

Snap-on Incorporated manufactures and markets tools, equipment, diagnostics, and repair information and systems solutions for professional users worldwide. It operates through Commercial & Industrial Group, Snap-on Tools Group, Repair Systems & Information Group, and Financial Services segments.