Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 11,901 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,901 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up approximately 1.7% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after purchasing an additional 886,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,655,000 after purchasing an additional 26,254 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $76.46 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.47. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The company has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current 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 represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.