Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,225,142 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,992 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.21% of Fastenal worth $88,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in 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 buying an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.0% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 226,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.0 %

FAST traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $75.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,436,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,019,135. The stock has a market cap of $43.33 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60, a P/E/G 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The business's 50-day moving average is $74.44 and its 200-day moving average is $74.23.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.