Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 6,789 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,607 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,789 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company's stock worth $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9 %

FAST stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.68. 1,990,742 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,114,037. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.09 and a 200-day moving average of $74.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.