Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,264 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $17,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $74.78 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.07. The firm has a market cap of $42.84 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.