6,572 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Bought by Sovran Advisors LLC

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 8,600 shares of the company's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,181 shares of the company's stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,549,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,333,444. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $74.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.10. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 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.