Quest Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA - Free Report) by 698.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,150 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Snap-on were worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SNA. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 443,333 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Snap-on by 51.2% in the 2nd 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 period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Snap-on by 1,786.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 161,175 shares of the company's stock worth $42,130,000 after acquiring an additional 152,631 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Snap-on by 34,381.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 130,338 shares of the company's stock worth $37,760,000 after purchasing an additional 129,960 shares during the period. Finally, Glassman Wealth Services purchased a new stake in shares of Snap-on during the second quarter worth approximately $26,608,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,807,095.56. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,137,302.07. This represents a 36.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 4,473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.74, for a total value of $1,246,804.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 99,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,663,272.56. This trade represents a 4.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,190 shares of company stock worth $8,212,284 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Snap-on Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SNA traded up $3.11 on Wednesday, reaching $357.85. 420,830 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 309,803. The company has a 50-day moving average of $312.62 and a 200-day moving average of $286.42. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.96. Snap-on Incorporated has a 1-year low of $252.98 and a 1-year high of $365.35.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Snap-on had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 22.13%. Equities analysts forecast that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $2.14 dividend. 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. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Snap-on's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.29%.

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

About Snap-on

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.