Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) Shares Bought by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,050 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $1,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Snap-on during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Snap-on during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Snap-on during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Snap-on by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Snap-on by 244.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Snap-on

In other news, VP June C. Lemerand sold 1,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.97, for a total value of $336,788.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $648,303.51. This represents a 34.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 4,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.74, for a total transaction of $1,246,804.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,663,272.56. The trade was a 4.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,190 shares of company stock worth $8,212,284. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SNA. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 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 raised their price target on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $345.40.

Snap-on Stock Performance

NYSE SNA opened at $357.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 3.14. Snap-on Incorporated has a 1-year low of $252.98 and a 1-year high of $365.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $309.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.07.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last announced 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 net margin of 22.13% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Equities analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 EPS for the current year.

Snap-on announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 8th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $2.14 per share. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 38.29%.

Snap-on Company 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.