Sentry Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $68,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SNA. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its position in Snap-on by 0.9% in the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 70.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Snap-on by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 727 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in Snap-on by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 1,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 84.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Snap-on Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SNA opened at $336.17 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $343.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $325.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a current ratio of 4.15. Snap-on Incorporated has a 1 year low of $252.98 and a 1 year high of $373.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.78 by $0.04. Snap-on had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 19.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.75 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $2.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Snap-on’s payout ratio is 43.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Snap-on in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $345.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 6,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.62, for a total transaction of $2,401,706.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,994,210.16. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 21,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.83, for a total transaction of $7,729,261.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 769,738 shares in the company, valued at $273,126,134.54. The trade was a 2.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,503 shares of company stock worth $15,906,074 in the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.