Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Lowers Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 855 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $76.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $75.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research increased their price objective 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 lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.