Freedom Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 572 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of Snap-on by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Snap-on by 3.1% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Snap-on by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 1,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Snap-on by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Snap-on by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Snap-on Stock Performance

SNA opened at $369.23 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $321.25 and a 200 day moving average of $289.52. Snap-on Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $252.98 and a fifty-two week high of $373.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 2.45 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.12. Snap-on had a net margin of 22.13% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $2.14 per share. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. Snap-on’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.06%.

Snap-on announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 8th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Iain Boyd sold 6,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.99, for a total transaction of $1,807,095.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,493 shares in the company, valued at $3,137,302.07. The trade was a 36.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Thomas Miller sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.00, for a total transaction of $577,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,061,940. The trade was a 35.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,531 shares of company stock valued at $6,628,691 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.