Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) Holdings Cut by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,142 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. owned 0.06% of Snap-on worth $10,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SNA. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Snap-on during the 4th quarter worth $512,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Snap-on by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 102,987 shares of the company's stock worth $34,962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Snap-on during the 3rd quarter worth $19,291,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Snap-on during the 4th quarter worth $1,936,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Snap-on by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the company's stock worth $2,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856 shares during the period. 84.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Snap-on from $349.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Longbow Research raised Snap-on from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Tigress Financial boosted 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. StockNews.com cut Snap-on from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Snap-on in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $350.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Snap-on news, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 22,700 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.32, for a total transaction of $7,611,764.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 793,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $266,221,278.24. The trade was a 2.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jesus Arregui sold 6,451 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,817.17. The trade was a 96.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,011 shares of company stock worth $12,116,859. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Snap-on Stock Up 0.2 %

SNA stock opened at $309.48 on Tuesday. Snap-on Incorporated has a 12 month low of $252.98 and a 12 month high of $373.90. The firm has a market cap of $16.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $339.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 4.15 and a quick ratio of 3.17.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The company reported $4.51 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 analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Snap-on's payout ratio 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.

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