Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA - Free Report) by 76.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,435 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,038 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Snap-on were worth $2,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Snap-on by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,404,599 shares of the company's stock worth $2,174,233,000 after purchasing an additional 19,328 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Snap-on by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,819,403 shares of the company's stock worth $617,651,000 after acquiring an additional 411,317 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Snap-on by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,806,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $613,195,000 after acquiring an additional 77,486 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,641,159 shares of the company's stock worth $556,022,000 after purchasing an additional 27,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Snap-on by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,128,317 shares of the company's stock worth $384,813,000 after purchasing an additional 127,859 shares during the period. 84.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Snap-on

In other Snap-on news, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 22,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.32, for a total value of $7,611,764.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 793,932 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 6,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.05, for a total value of $2,325,883.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,011 shares of company stock worth $12,116,859. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SNA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Snap-on from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Longbow Research upgraded Snap-on from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Snap-on from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Snap-on in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $349.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Snap-on currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $350.83.

Snap-on Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SNA traded up $5.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $316.88. 326,939 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 358,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 4.15 and a quick ratio of 3.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $325.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $338.81. Snap-on Incorporated has a 52 week low of $252.98 and a 52 week high of $373.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.84.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The company reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($0.30). Snap-on had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 19.20%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.91 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.79 EPS for the current year.

Snap-on Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $2.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Snap-on's payout ratio is currently 44.82%.

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.