Baillie Gifford & Co. Has $185.42 Million Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,578,451 shares of the company's stock after selling 123,791 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.45% of Fastenal worth $185,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $75.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,299,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,997,801. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.02. 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 has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The firm's 50 day moving average is $74.37 and its 200-day moving average is $74.23.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Fastenal Company 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.