Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Parthenon LLC

Parthenon LLC cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,505 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,093 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises 2.4% of Parthenon LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $19,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 16,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,993 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 199,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,318,000 after buying an additional 4,671 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,173.7% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 6,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 5,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 17,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $75.57 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $43.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.23. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s dividend 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.