Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 16,705 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 435,529 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,705 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Fastenal worth $31,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $522,558,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,183,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 301.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,478,233 shares of the company's stock worth $106,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110,445 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after purchasing an additional 886,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $4.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.64. The company had a trading volume of 7,561,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,091,608. The company's 50-day moving average price is $75.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.37. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $46.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.56%.

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.