Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Heritage Wealth Advisors

Heritage Wealth Advisors decreased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $106,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. United Services Automobile Association lifted its stake in Fastenal by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.2 %

FAST opened at $77.09 on Wednesday. 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 has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.81. The firm has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. 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 firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 issued 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 dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, HSBC downgraded 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Company 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.