Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 71.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,581 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,697 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company's stock worth $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company's stock worth $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,419,690,000 after acquiring an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company's stock worth $38,262,000 after acquiring an additional 507,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 59.3% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company's stock worth $66,305,000 after acquiring an additional 345,537 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $74.78. The company had a trading volume of 3,347,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,008,088. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.24. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus 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.