Haverford Trust Co Sells 417 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Haverford Trust Co trimmed its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $873,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Fastenal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,932,000 after acquiring an additional 7,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $76.94 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $75.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.73. 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 company has a market cap of $44.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.