Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,757,922 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,273 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $342,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $522,558,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $101,183,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Fastenal by 301.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,478,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,214,000 after acquiring an additional 886,999 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $74.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.19. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s 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.