Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance Acquires New Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance bought a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lifted its position in Fastenal by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company's stock worth $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company's stock worth $26,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock remained flat at $74.79 during mid-day trading on Friday. 925,990 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,016,642. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 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 fifty day moving average is $74.78 and its 200 day moving average is $74.05. The company has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 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.