Bank of Nova Scotia Has $5.51 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,607 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,300,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,199,150,000 after purchasing an additional 592,583 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after buying an additional 886,999 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,918,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,214,002,000 after buying an additional 234,713 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $522,558,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,628,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,640,000 after acquiring an additional 33,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

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Fastenal Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $80.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,036,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,098,937. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The company has a market capitalization of $46.13 billion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.85 and a 200 day moving average of $76.47.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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.