Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 41.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,315 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,937 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.
Fastenal Price Performance
NASDAQ FAST traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $76.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,856,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,925,983. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.65. The company has a market capitalization of $44.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.28, 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. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Fastenal Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Fastenal
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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