Postrock Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Postrock Partners LLC bought a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 169,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,174,000. Fastenal makes up about 5.9% of Postrock Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company's stock worth $1,493,214,000 after purchasing an additional 886,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company's stock worth $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,928 shares of the company's stock worth $354,655,000 after purchasing an additional 26,254 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company's stock worth $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Up 2.1 %

FAST traded up $1.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.26. The company had a trading volume of 4,083,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,920,280. The stock has a market cap of $43.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.29. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.