Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 3,935 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 438,859 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,935 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for about 1.1% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC owned about 0.08% of Fastenal worth $31,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,262,000 after purchasing an additional 507,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $29,443,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of FAST opened at $75.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.66.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group began 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 lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.