Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $461.88 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,423,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,080 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $461,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.2% in 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 period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research boosted 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $74.78 on Monday. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a PEG 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s 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.