Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes $5.76 Million Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 80,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,757,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $873,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company's stock worth $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Fastenal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,932,000 after acquiring an additional 7,559 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.78 on Friday, hitting $74.73. 8,781,375 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,926,265. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The firm's 50 day moving average is $75.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.

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.