Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Position Lowered by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 26.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,230 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,116 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $74.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.54. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.