Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Boosts Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,819 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,292 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.79 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Fastenal 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.