Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by SlateStone Wealth LLC

SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $75.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.35. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. 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.