Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,215,046 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,219 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Snap were worth $13,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Snap in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Snap in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Snap by 128.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych acquired a new position in shares of Snap during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Snap by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 8,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 5,704 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.52% of the company’s stock.

Snap Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:SNAP opened at $8.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.73 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 3.95 and a quick ratio of 3.95. Snap Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.29 and a 12-month high of $17.33.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.13). Snap had a negative net margin of 13.02% and a negative return on equity of 25.67%. Equities research analysts predict that Snap Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNAP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Snap from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Snap from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Guggenheim lowered shares of Snap from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Snap currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Michael J. O’sullivan sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.49, for a total value of $206,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 480,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,520,922.02. This represents a 3.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Derek Andersen sold 22,720 shares of Snap stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.58, for a total transaction of $194,937.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 3,541,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,386,198.70. This represents a 0.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,332,523 shares of company stock worth $12,503,677. Insiders own 22.68% of the company’s stock.

About Snap

Snap Inc operates as a technology company in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Snapchat, a visual messaging application with various tabs, such as camera, visual messaging, snap map, stories, and spotlight that enable people to communicate visually through short videos and images.