Picton Mahoney Asset Management Cuts Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management reduced its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 168,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,289 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after acquiring an additional 886,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,655,000 after buying an additional 26,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $75.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 2.29%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. 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. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 research note on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.