Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 40.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,313 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,632 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,419,690,000 after buying an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company's stock worth $38,262,000 after buying an additional 507,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company's stock worth $66,305,000 after buying an additional 345,537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of FAST traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,990,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,114,037. The company's 50-day moving average is $75.09 and its 200-day moving average is $74.04. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.66, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. 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 posted its 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on FAST. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.

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.