Snap-On Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Snap-On Incorporated (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $350.83.

Several research firms have issued reports on SNA. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Snap-On in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Longbow Research upgraded shares of Snap-On from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Snap-On from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Snap-On from $349.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 5,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.84, for a total transaction of $1,814,942.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,808,590.40. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen L. Daniel sold 1,090 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.92, for a total transaction of $348,712.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,568,957.60. This represents a 11.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,815 shares of company stock valued at $9,482,532. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Snap-On

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SNA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Snap-On in the 2nd quarter valued at about $434,938,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Snap-On by 35,967.2% in the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,073,000 shares of the company's stock worth $361,612,000 after buying an additional 1,070,025 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Snap-On by 65,113.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 703,003 shares of the company's stock worth $236,919,000 after buying an additional 701,925 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Snap-On in the fourth quarter worth about $145,342,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Snap-On by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,819,403 shares of the company's stock worth $617,651,000 after buying an additional 411,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.88% of the company's stock.

Snap-On Trading Down 1.0%

Snap-On stock traded down $3.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $317.65. The company had a trading volume of 260,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 367,757. Snap-On has a 12-month low of $266.55 and a 12-month high of $373.90. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $317.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 4.14.

Snap-On (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 21.42%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $4.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Snap-On will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Snap-On Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $2.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Snap-On's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.82%.

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.