Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 10,635 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,462 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,635 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.

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Fastenal Stock Down 1.0 %

FAST traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.73. 8,781,375 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,926,265. The stock has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.18, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The stock's 50-day moving average is $75.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company's fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers that are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.