Stephens Inc. AR Sells 501 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,321 shares of the company’s stock after selling 501 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after buying an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted 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 valued at $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $74.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $42.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.98, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 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.