Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,407,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,183,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.25% of Fastenal at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,214,000 after buying an additional 886,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,655,000 after purchasing an additional 26,254 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $79.98 on Friday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.99. The stock has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.