Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) Shares Bought by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,791 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Snap-on were worth $608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SNA. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Snap-on in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Snap-on by 53.0% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Snap-on during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Snap-on by 244.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. 84.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SNA. Barrington Research raised their target price 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. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap-on has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $345.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk sold 21,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.83, for a total transaction of $7,729,261.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 769,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $273,126,134.54. This represents a 2.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP June C. Lemerand sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.86, for a total transaction of $1,270,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,289 shares in the company, valued at $830,586.54. This represents a 60.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,929 shares of company stock valued at $15,645,074 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Snap-on Price Performance

SNA opened at $348.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $351.05 and a 200-day moving average of $311.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a current ratio of 4.18. Snap-on Incorporated has a 1-year low of $252.98 and a 1-year high of $373.89.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $2.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. 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.