Associated Banc Corp Acquires 450 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Associated Banc Corp grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,457 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% during the 4th 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 period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, HSBC downgraded 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $75.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.29%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 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.