Empowered Funds LLC Has $2 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,833 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,043 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.19 on Tuesday, reaching $74.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 401,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,984,766. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock has a market cap of $42.73 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50 day moving average is $74.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.17.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Fastenal's 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 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

About Fastenal

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.