Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,709 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,613 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $8,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 72,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,483,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Snap-on in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 66.5% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Snap-on by 0.5% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 21,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,221,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Snap-on in the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,968,000. 84.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Snap-on Price Performance

Shares of Snap-on stock opened at $369.23 on Friday. Snap-on Incorporated has a 52 week low of $252.98 and a 52 week high of $373.89. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $323.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.07.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Snap-on had a net margin of 22.13% and a return on equity of 19.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, August 8th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $2.14 dividend. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Snap-on’s payout ratio is presently 44.06%.

Insider Transactions at Snap-on

In related news, VP Iain Boyd sold 6,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,137,302.07. This represents a 36.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 12,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.21, for a total value of $4,244,095.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,401 shares in the company, valued at $18,460,167.21. This represents a 18.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,531 shares of company stock valued at $6,628,691 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on SNA shares. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap-on has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.