Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,160,356 shares of the company's stock after selling 309,280 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up about 0.6% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.73% of Fastenal worth $299,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after buying an additional 886,999 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd 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. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $354,655,000 after buying an additional 26,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position 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 valued at $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.78 on Friday, hitting $74.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,781,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,923,942. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.52. The company has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.

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.