Nicholas Company Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,156,320 shares of the company's stock after selling 66,900 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for 1.3% of Nicholas Company Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Nicholas Company Inc. owned about 0.20% of Fastenal worth $83,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 16,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,251 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 242.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 388,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,943,000 after buying an additional 274,988 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors grew its position in Fastenal by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 3,536 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 20,846 shares of the company's stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $808,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.
View Our Latest Research Report on FAST
Fastenal Trading Up 1.1 %
Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $76.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,558,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,908,599. The stock has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $74.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.41. 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share 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 $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.
About Fastenal
(
Free Report)
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.
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