Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,225,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,992 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $88,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $74.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Fastenal 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.