Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 165,012 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,901 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises 1.7% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company's stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company's stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $2.21 on Monday, hitting $76.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,856,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,925,983. 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 current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The company has a market capitalization of $44.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.73.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 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 the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. 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 2.24%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.