Here are key updates on 3 dividend payers

Article Excerpt

SNAP-ON INC. $202 is still a hold. The company (New York symbol SNA; Conservative-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares o/s: 53.7 million; Market cap: $10.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.snapon.com) makes tools for auto mechanics and industrial customers. Starting with the December 2020 payment, Snap-On increased the quarterly dividend for shareholders by 13.9%. The new annual rate of $4.92 yields a solid 2.4%. The company continues to benefit as more people fix their older cars due to a shortage of new ones. In the three months ended October 2, 2021, revenue rose 10.2%, to $1.04 billion from $941.6 million a year earlier. Thanks to savings from an ongoing plan to improve efficiency, earnings gained 8.8%, to $3.57 a share from $3.28. The stock has jumped 25% in the past year, and still trades at a reasonable 15.2 times the $13.31 a share that the company will probably earn in 2021. However, higher prices for steel and other inputs could squeeze profit…