Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group reduced its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,882 shares during the quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.8 %

FAST stock opened at $75.99 on Thursday. 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 has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.20. The firm has a market cap of $43.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81, 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm 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%. The firm’s 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. Research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.