Snap-On Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Snap-On Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $426.20.

SNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $415.00 target price on Snap-On in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Snap-On from $445.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $461.00 target price (up from $409.00) on shares of Snap-On in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays started coverage on Snap-On in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Snap-On in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

Snap-On Price Performance

Shares of SNA opened at $375.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.43 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $400.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $385.25. Snap-On has a 1-year low of $320.80 and a 1-year high of $423.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.72.

Snap-On (NYSE:SNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $4.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.95 by $0.01. Snap-On had a net margin of 21.25% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Snap-On will post 19.7 EPS for the current year.

Snap-On Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $2.44 dividend. This represents a $9.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Snap-On’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Marty V. Ozolins sold 800 shares of Snap-On stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $320,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,400. The trade was a 34.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Nicholas Pinchuk sold 22,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $399.69, for a total value of $9,148,504.41. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 867,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $346,842,588.51. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,720 shares of company stock worth $16,500,198. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap-On

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Snap-On by 37,771.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 34,015,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,687,908,000 after purchasing an additional 33,925,859 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Snap-On in the second quarter worth $1,715,363,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Snap-On by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,272,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,945,000 after acquiring an additional 28,071 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Snap-On by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,033,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,473,000 after acquiring an additional 65,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Snap-On by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,011,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,306,000 after purchasing an additional 39,765 shares during the period. 84.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Snap-On

Snap-on Incorporated is a manufacturer and distributor of professional tools, equipment, diagnostics and repair information. Its products include hand and power tools, tool storage, vehicle diagnostic systems, shop equipment, repair software and related services. The company serves professional technicians and customers in the automotive repair, commercial transportation, industrial, aviation, military, agriculture and other technical markets.

Snap-on sells products under the Snap-on brand and other brands, including Blue-Point, through a broad distribution network.