HM Payson & Co. Sells 255 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

HM Payson & Co. trimmed its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 38.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $873,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on FAST shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $79.80 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.13. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Fastenal’s payout ratio 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.