Harbour Investments Inc. Grows Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,231 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,251 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $873,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $76.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.46. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year 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 market cap of $43.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.