Dearborn Partners LLC Has $33.67 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 468,274 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,934 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Fastenal worth $33,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,183,000. State Street Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company's stock worth $1,493,214,000 after acquiring an additional 886,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,262,000 after buying an additional 507,364 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Fastenal Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.26. 4,083,686 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,951,887. The company's fifty day moving average is $74.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $43.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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 research report on Monday. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.

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.