Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Cuts Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 855 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $76.17 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week 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 stock has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

About Fastenal

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.