United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $618,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $873,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Fastenal by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company's stock worth $8,932,000 after purchasing an additional 7,559 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company's stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 8,380 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Fastenal
Fastenal Stock Down 2.0 %
FAST traded down $1.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,689,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,059,682. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.
Fastenal Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 85.57%.
Fastenal Profile
(
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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