Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. Purchases New Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $808,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Associated Banc Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 4,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Postrock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $12,174,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $16,217,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 301,423 shares of the company's stock worth $21,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $2,343,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $0.85 on Monday, reaching $76.11. 1,179,012 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,914,057. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $43.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a PEG 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.74 and a 200 day moving average of $75.35.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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 lowered Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.