Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) Upgraded at Longbow Research

Longbow Research upgraded shares of Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Longbow Research currently has $400.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SNA. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Snap-on in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Snap-on from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Snap-on currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $355.33.

Snap-on Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SNA opened at $342.26 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $339.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $334.80. Snap-on has a twelve month low of $252.98 and a twelve month high of $373.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 4.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.78 by $0.04. Snap-on had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 19.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Snap-on will post 19.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $2.14 dividend. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Snap-on’s payout ratio is presently 43.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 22,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.32, for a total transaction of $7,611,764.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 793,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $266,221,278.24. This trade represents a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 6,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.05, for a total value of $2,325,883.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,310,898.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,011 shares of company stock valued at $12,116,859 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Snap-on during the 4th quarter valued at $148,839,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Snap-on during the fourth quarter worth about $145,342,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Snap-on by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,819,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,651,000 after purchasing an additional 411,317 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Snap-on during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,738,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Snap-on by 2,691.2% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 158,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,810,000 after purchasing an additional 152,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

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.