Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 3,271 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 183,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,271 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $77.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.81. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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 target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.