Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 4,149 Shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA - Free Report) by 103.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,156 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,149 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Snap-on were worth $2,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 15.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 180,879 shares of the company's stock worth $52,402,000 after buying an additional 24,047 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Snap-on by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,140 shares of the company's stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 3.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,728,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,848,000 after purchasing an additional 56,266 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Snap-on by 9.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 907,655 shares of the company's stock worth $262,957,000 after purchasing an additional 78,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Snap-on by 0.9% during the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Richard Thomas Miller sold 1,750 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.00, for a total transaction of $577,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,061,940. This trade represents a 35.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Iain Boyd sold 6,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,137,302.07. This represents a 36.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,531 shares of company stock valued at $6,628,691. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Snap-on Stock Performance

Shares of SNA traded down $3.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $366.67. 327,527 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,334. The company has a quick ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Snap-on Incorporated has a 52 week low of $252.98 and a 52 week high of $373.89. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $326.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.41. The firm has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.96.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.12. The company 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 EPS for the current year.

Snap-on announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $2.14 dividend. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Snap-on's previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. Snap-on's payout ratio is currently 44.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Snap-on has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $345.40.

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.