Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Fastenal Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $1.05 on Monday, hitting $77.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,408,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,053,344. The company has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a PE ratio of 38.47, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.98. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Fastenal Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 85.57%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. 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. Wolfe Research lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.91.
Read Our Latest Report on FAST
About Fastenal
(
Free Report)
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.
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