Aurora Investment Counsel Sells 2,259 Shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Aurora Investment Counsel lowered its stake in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 63.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,259 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Snap-on by 70.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Snap-on during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Snap-on in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Snap-on in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Snap-on by 38.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 84.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Snap-on Stock Performance

NYSE SNA opened at $323.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a current ratio of 4.15. Snap-on Incorporated has a 52-week low of $252.98 and a 52-week high of $373.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $341.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $329.10.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $4.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the company posted $4.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.79 EPS for the current year.

Snap-on Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $2.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Snap-on’s payout ratio is presently 43.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Snap-on news, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 6,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.62, for a total transaction of $2,401,706.58. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,994,210.16. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jesus Arregui sold 6,451 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.81, for a total transaction of $2,179,212.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,817.17. The trade was a 96.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,220 shares of company stock valued at $6,906,802 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SNA shares. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Snap-on in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $346.40.

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.