Blueshift Asset Management LLC Invests $246,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in Fastenal by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, HSBC lowered Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.

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Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST remained flat at $77.09 during midday trading on Wednesday. The company had a trading volume of 2,763,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,923,273. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $75.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.81.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's payout ratio is 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.