Bridgewater Associates LP Has $8.90 Million Stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA - Free Report) by 27.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,709 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,613 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.06% of Snap-on worth $8,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SNA. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Snap-on by 234.7% in the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 632,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,258,000 after acquiring an additional 443,333 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Snap-on by 51.2% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 829,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,815,000 after acquiring an additional 280,997 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Snap-on by 1,786.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 161,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,130,000 after acquiring an additional 152,631 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Snap-on by 34,381.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 130,338 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,760,000 after acquiring an additional 129,960 shares during the period. Finally, Glassman Wealth Services acquired a new position in Snap-on in the second quarter valued at about $26,608,000. 84.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Snap-on Stock Up 0.2 %

SNA traded up $0.58 on Friday, hitting $369.81. 181,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,268. Snap-on Incorporated has a 12 month low of $252.98 and a 12 month high of $373.89. The company has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.44 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. The stock's fifty day moving average is $324.68 and its 200-day moving average is $290.62.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Snap-on had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 22.13%. Equities research analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $2.14 dividend. This is a positive change from Snap-on's previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Snap-on's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.06%.

Snap-on declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SNA. Barrington Research boosted their target price on Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $345.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap-on

In related news, VP Iain Boyd sold 6,044 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.99, for a total value of $1,807,095.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,137,302.07. The trade was a 36.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 12,737 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.21, for a total value of $4,244,095.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,460,167.21. This trade represents a 18.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,531 shares of company stock worth $6,628,691 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

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.