Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Acquires 255 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,690 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 54.1% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for 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 downgraded 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. Wolfe Research upped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $74.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.24. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 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.