Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 353,508 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 88.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 353,508 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $873,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 8,380 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $76.46 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.47. 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 stock has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

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 analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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. HSBC lowered 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. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.