Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,375 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,349 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Snap-on worth $34,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 57,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,671,000 after purchasing an additional 8,073 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Snap-on by 14.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Snap-on by 3.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 48,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 220.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Snap-on by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 23,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,735,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. 84.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Snap-on Price Performance

Shares of SNA stock opened at $314.98 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $335.37. The company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Snap-on Incorporated has a twelve month low of $252.98 and a twelve month high of $373.90. The company has a current ratio of 4.15, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.78 by $0.04. Snap-on had a return on equity of 19.20% and a net margin of 21.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $2.14 dividend. This represents a $8.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Snap-on’s payout ratio is 43.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap-on

In related news, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 22,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.32, for a total value of $7,611,764.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 793,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $266,221,278.24. This represents a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jesus Arregui sold 6,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.81, for a total transaction of $2,179,212.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 257 shares in the company, valued at $86,817.17. This trade represents a 96.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,011 shares of company stock valued at $12,116,859 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SNA. Longbow Research raised shares of Snap-on from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Snap-on in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Snap-on from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.33.

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.