Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 384,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,616,000 after purchasing an additional 17,672 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 37,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,597,000 after buying an additional 10,937 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,757,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.0 %

FAST opened at $74.73 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.57.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 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.