Vest Financial LLC Raises Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 750,575 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,169 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Fastenal worth $53,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9 %

Fastenal stock traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $73.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,990,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,114,037. The firm has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.04. 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.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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