Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Cuts Stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its stake in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA - Free Report) by 46.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,905 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,665 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Snap-on were worth $647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SNA. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Snap-on in the 4th quarter worth about $512,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Snap-on by 2.4% in 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 period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Snap-on during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,291,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Snap-on in the fourth quarter worth $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 worth $2,005,000 after buying an additional 1,856 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SNA. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Snap-on from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Snap-on in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Longbow Research raised Snap-on from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Snap-on from $349.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Snap-on from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $350.83.

Snap-on Stock Up 2.0 %

SNA traded up $6.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $310.66. 281,917 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 356,982. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $329.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $337.90. Snap-on Incorporated has a 12-month low of $252.98 and a 12-month high of $373.90. The company has a current ratio of 4.15, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.91 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $2.14 dividend. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Snap-on's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap-on

In other Snap-on news, SVP Jesus Arregui sold 6,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.81, for a total value of $2,179,212.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,817.17. This represents a 96.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 6,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.05, for a total transaction of $2,325,883.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,310,898.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,011 shares of company stock worth $12,116,859. Insiders own 3.90% 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.