Snap-On Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of Snap-On Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $429.20.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Snap-On from $445.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $461.00 target price (up from $409.00) on shares of Snap-On in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $415.00 price target on Snap-On in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays set a $435.00 price target on Snap-On in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Snap-On in a report on Friday, July 17th.

Snap-On Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:SNA opened at $368.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $388.01 and a 200-day moving average of $384.49. The company has a current ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Snap-On has a 52 week low of $320.80 and a 52 week high of $423.02.

Snap-On (NYSE:SNA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $4.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.95 by $0.01. Snap-On had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 21.25%.The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period last 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. Analysts predict that Snap-On will post 19.76 EPS for the current year.

Snap-On Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $2.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $9.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Snap-On’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Snap-On

In other news, VP Marty V. Ozolins sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,526 shares in the company, valued at $610,400. This trade represents a 34.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Timothy Chambers sold 9,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.36, for a total transaction of $3,820,788.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 21,223 shares in the company, valued at $8,900,077.28. This represents a 30.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 38,720 shares of company stock valued at $15,688,358 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap-On

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SNA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Snap-On during the 2nd quarter worth $1,715,363,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Snap-On by 34,360.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,025,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,210 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Snap-On during the second quarter valued at $329,779,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of Snap-On during the second quarter valued at $181,969,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Snap-On in the 2nd quarter valued at $174,736,000. Institutional investors own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

About Snap-On

Snap-on Incorporated is a manufacturer and distributor of professional tools, equipment, and diagnostic solutions. The company serves customers in the automotive repair, heavy-duty transportation, aviation, marine, railroad, agriculture, government, and other industrial sectors. Its offerings include hand and power tools, tool storage, shop equipment, diagnostic systems, repair information, and software.

Founded in 1920, Snap-on began by developing interchangeable socket sets for professional mechanics.