Whipplewood Advisors LLC Takes Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $75.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.43 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. 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 has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.61.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FAST shares. 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 began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.