New Century Financial Group LLC Lowers Stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

New Century Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,097 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SNA. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Snap-on in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Snap-on in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Snap-on by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Snap-on during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Snap-on during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. 84.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Snap-on Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of SNA opened at $309.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $319.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $334.30. Snap-on Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $252.98 and a fifty-two week high of $373.90. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 4.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The company reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Snap-on had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 19.20%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.91 EPS. Analysts forecast that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Snap-on Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $2.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Snap-on’s payout ratio is 44.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SNA shares. Longbow Research raised Snap-on from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Snap-on in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $349.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Snap-on from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Snap-on from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $350.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 5,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.84, for a total transaction of $1,814,942.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 109,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,808,590.40. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 22,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.32, for a total transaction 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 approximately $266,221,278.24. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,515 shares of company stock worth $17,094,296 in the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Snap-on

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.