Vestcor Inc lessened its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,999 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,916 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $873,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.
Fastenal Stock Performance
Shares of FAST traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.26. 4,083,686 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,920,280. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $74.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.29.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its 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). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.
Fastenal Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have recently commented 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. HSBC cut Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.
Get Our Latest Analysis on FAST
About Fastenal
(
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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