169,291 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Bought by Postrock Partners LLC

Postrock Partners LLC bought a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 169,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,174,000. Fastenal comprises 5.9% of Postrock Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $73.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.67 and a 200-day moving average of $75.19. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

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.