West Coast Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

West Coast Financial LLC raised its stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,318 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 634 shares during the quarter. Snap-on makes up approximately 1.4% of West Coast Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $12,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $216,815,000 after buying an additional 280,997 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Snap-on by 1,786.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Snap-on by 2,691.2% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 158,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,810,000 after acquiring an additional 152,428 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Snap-on by 34,381.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 130,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,760,000 after acquiring an additional 129,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,128,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,813,000 after purchasing an additional 127,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

Snap-on Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:SNA opened at $345.41 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $351.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $309.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Snap-on Incorporated has a 12 month low of $252.98 and a 12 month high of $373.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 3.14.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.12. Snap-on had a net margin of 22.13% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Research analysts predict that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $2.14 per share. This is a positive change from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Snap-on’s dividend payout ratio is 44.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SNA shares. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Snap-on currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $345.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Richard Thomas Miller sold 1,750 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,061,940. The trade was a 35.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 6,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.62, for a total transaction of $2,401,706.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,994,210.16. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,679 shares of company stock valued at $16,222,574 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

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.