Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 30.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,917 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,197 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $10,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SNA. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Snap-on in the 4th quarter worth approximately $242,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Snap-on by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 456.0% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 278 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Snap-on by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,865,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Snap-on by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,289,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 12,737 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.21, for a total transaction of $4,244,095.77. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,460,167.21. The trade was a 18.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Richard Thomas Miller sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.00, for a total value of $577,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,061,940. The trade was a 35.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,679 shares of company stock valued at $16,222,574 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Snap-on Trading Up 0.2 %

SNA opened at $339.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.00. Snap-on Incorporated has a 12 month low of $252.98 and a 12 month high of $373.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $351.87 and a 200 day moving average of $308.86. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.12. Snap-on had a net margin of 22.13% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 EPS for the current year.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $2.14 dividend. This is a positive change from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Snap-on’s dividend payout ratio is 44.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barrington Research raised their price target 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 upped their price objective on Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $345.40.

Snap-on 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.