Citigroup Inc. Buys 24,047 Shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 15.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 180,879 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,047 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $52,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Snap-on by 25.2% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Snap-on by 3.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 907,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,957,000 after acquiring an additional 78,184 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of Snap-on by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in Snap-on by 1.3% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 84.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Snap-on Stock Performance

NYSE:SNA opened at $365.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $317.63 and its 200-day moving average is $288.07. Snap-on Incorporated has a 1-year low of $252.98 and a 1-year high of $367.12. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Snap-on announced that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors 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. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Snap-on’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Snap-on news, VP Iain Boyd sold 6,044 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,137,302.07. This trade represents a 36.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP June C. Lemerand sold 1,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.97, for a total transaction of $336,788.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,283 shares in the company, valued at $648,303.51. This trade represents a 34.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,717 shares of company stock valued at $6,965,480. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SNA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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.com, Snap-on 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.