Meeder Asset Management Inc. Acquires 220 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,375 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,932,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after buying an additional 8,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of 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 objective on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of FAST opened at $76.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.98.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.