Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 5,966 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,864 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,966 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $10,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its position in Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $1.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.17. 2,689,065 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,059,682. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.35 and a 200 day moving average of $75.94. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

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Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. HSBC downgraded shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.

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.