Kestra Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,715 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,993 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 199,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,318,000 after purchasing an additional 4,671 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,173.7% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 6,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 5,575 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 17,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $74.78 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.65 and its 200 day moving average is $74.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for 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%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

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.