American Century Companies Inc. Has $33.93 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 471,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 206,441 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $33,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its position in Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $76.17 on Friday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $75.35 and its 200-day moving average is $75.89. The company has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost 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%.

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.