Boston Research & Management Inc. Cuts Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Boston Research & Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,655 shares of the company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises 1.9% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $76.17 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $75.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.98. The company has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. 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.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s 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.