Jones Financial Companies Lllp Grows Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 62.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,550 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,092 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,655,000 after purchasing an additional 26,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $74.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.83. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $42.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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. Shareholders 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 is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.