Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,593 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,314 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $81,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Snap-on by 234.7% in the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 632,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,258,000 after purchasing an additional 443,333 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Snap-on by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 829,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,815,000 after purchasing an additional 280,997 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Snap-on by 1,786.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 161,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,130,000 after buying an additional 152,631 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Snap-on by 2,691.2% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 158,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,810,000 after buying an additional 152,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Snap-on by 34,381.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 130,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,760,000 after buying an additional 129,960 shares during the last quarter. 84.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Snap-on Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:SNA opened at $343.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.98. 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 50 day moving average of $346.39 and a 200-day moving average of $299.63.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.12. Snap-on had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 22.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 EPS for the current year.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $2.14 per share. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a positive change from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Snap-on’s payout ratio is presently 44.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Snap-on news, VP Iain Boyd sold 6,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.99, for a total transaction of $1,807,095.56. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP June C. Lemerand sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.86, for a total value of $1,270,010.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,289 shares in the company, valued at $830,586.54. This trade represents a 60.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,723 shares of company stock worth $18,029,670. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

About Snap-on

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.