Aurora Investment Counsel Buys 30 Shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Aurora Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,549 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $1,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Snap-on during the second quarter worth about $4,571,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Snap-on by 0.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,764,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Snap-on by 32.7% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,435,000 after buying an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Snap-on during the second quarter worth about $3,653,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Snap-on by 21.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 158,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,999,000 after buying an additional 28,049 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

Snap-on Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Snap-on stock opened at $357.85 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $314.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $286.92. Snap-on Incorporated has a 52-week low of $252.98 and a 52-week high of $365.35. The firm has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a current ratio of 4.18.

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

Snap-on declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 8th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $2.14 per share. This is a positive change from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Snap-on’s payout ratio is 38.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP June C. Lemerand sold 1,186 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.97, for a total transaction of $336,788.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $648,303.51. The trade was a 34.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 12,737 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.21, for a total value of $4,244,095.77. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,460,167.21. This represents a 18.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,717 shares of company stock valued at $6,965,480 in the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research raised their price target on Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap-on currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $345.40.

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.