Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 6,424 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 303,495 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,424 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.05% of Fastenal worth $21,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $75.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,435,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,019,135. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $74.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.23. The company has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.