Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Holdings Lifted by Certuity LLC

Certuity LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,251 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,966 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.33 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $42.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $75.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. HSBC lowered shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Company 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.