Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Snap-on (NYSE:SNA - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Snap-on from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Longbow Research raised shares of Snap-on from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Snap-on in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Snap-on from $358.00 to $349.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $350.83.

Snap-on Price Performance

Shares of SNA stock traded up $3.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $305.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 207,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,823. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a current ratio of 4.15. The firm's 50-day moving average is $330.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $338.13. Snap-on has a 1-year low of $252.98 and a 1-year high of $373.90. The company has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Snap-on Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $2.14 per share. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Snap-on's payout ratio is 44.82%.

Insider Transactions at Snap-on

In related news, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 6,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 22,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.32, for a total transaction of $7,611,764.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,011 shares of company stock worth $12,116,859 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Snap-on

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Snap-on during the 4th quarter worth approximately $512,000. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Snap-on by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 102,987 shares of the company's stock worth $34,962,000 after buying an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Snap-on during the third quarter worth $19,291,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Snap-on in the fourth quarter valued at $1,936,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Snap-on by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.88% of the company's stock.

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.