Heritage Wealth Advisors Trims Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Heritage Wealth Advisors lowered its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.2 %

FAST stock opened at $77.09 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.81. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.35, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. 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 presently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. Wolfe Research raised their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.