Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Buys 80,421 Shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA - Free Report) by 45.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,450 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,421 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.49% of Snap-on worth $74,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SNA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 56,266 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Snap-on by 1.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 942,743 shares of the company's stock worth $246,424,000 after purchasing an additional 13,033 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Snap-on by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 907,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,957,000 after acquiring an additional 78,184 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Snap-on by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 817,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,686,000 after acquiring an additional 65,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Snap-on by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 732,571 shares of the company's stock worth $191,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the last quarter. 84.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barrington Research raised 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 lifted their price target on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $345.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 12,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.21, for a total transaction of $4,244,095.77. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,401 shares in the company, valued at $18,460,167.21. This represents a 18.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Thomas Miller sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.00, for a total transaction of $577,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,061,940. The trade was a 35.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,531 shares of company stock valued at $6,628,691 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Snap-on Stock Performance

Snap-on stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $369.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 181,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,690. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $326.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.33. The company has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.45 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. Snap-on Incorporated has a 12-month low of $252.98 and a 12-month high of $373.89.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Snap-on had a net margin of 22.13% and a return on equity of 19.44%. Sell-side analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $2.14 per share. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Snap-on's previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Snap-on's dividend payout ratio is 44.06%.

Snap-on announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 8th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.