Postrock Partners LLC Invests $12.17 Million in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Postrock Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 169,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,174,000. Fastenal makes up 5.9% of Postrock Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its stake in Fastenal by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd 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. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Up 2.1 %

Fastenal stock traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.26. The stock had a trading volume of 4,083,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,920,280. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $74.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.29.

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Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm 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 business posted $0.46 EPS. Fastenal's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a 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 increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC cut Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.