Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $209,000 Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,262,000 after purchasing an additional 507,364 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 59.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,305,000 after purchasing an additional 345,537 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $73.68 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.09 and its 200 day moving average is $74.04. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week 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) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.