Freedom Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 572 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SNA. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Snap-on during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Snap-on during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Snap-on during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Snap-on by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Snap-on during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 84.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Richard Thomas Miller sold 1,750 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,061,940. This trade represents a 35.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 12,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.21, for a total value of $4,244,095.77. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,401 shares in the company, valued at $18,460,167.21. The trade was a 18.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,531 shares of company stock worth $6,628,691. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SNA shares. Bank of America increased their price target 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. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barrington Research boosted their target price on Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $345.40.

Snap-on Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SNA opened at $369.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Snap-on Incorporated has a 12-month low of $252.98 and a 12-month high of $373.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $321.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.96.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Snap-on announced that its board has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Snap-on’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.06%.

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.