Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA - Free Report) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 280,593 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,314 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.53% of Snap-on worth $81,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Snap-on by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 942,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,424,000 after purchasing an additional 13,033 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Snap-on by 51.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 829,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,815,000 after buying an additional 280,997 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Snap-on by 8.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 817,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,686,000 after buying an additional 65,485 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Snap-on by 0.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 732,571 shares of the company's stock worth $191,487,000 after buying an additional 2,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Snap-on by 234.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 632,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,258,000 after buying an additional 443,333 shares during the last quarter. 84.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Snap-on Stock Performance

Snap-on stock traded up $6.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $359.27. The stock had a trading volume of 356,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,737. The stock's 50 day moving average is $301.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.03. Snap-on Incorporated has a 1 year low of $252.98 and a 1 year high of $360.41. The stock has a market cap of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.12. Snap-on had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 22.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 EPS for the current year.

Snap-on announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors 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 dividend of $2.14 per share. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Snap-on's previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. Snap-on's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.29%.

Insider Transactions at Snap-on

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 12,737 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP June C. Lemerand sold 1,186 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.97, for a total transaction of $336,788.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,283 shares in the company, valued at $648,303.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 12,737 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.21, for a total transaction of $4,244,095.77. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,460,167.21. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,335 shares of company stock worth $14,706,082 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.