Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 592,583 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,300,792 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 592,583 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.62% of Fastenal worth $5,199,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST traded down $1.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $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 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 has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month 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's 50-day moving average is $75.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.89.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

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.