Ieq Capital LLC Sells 8,561 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,561 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 16,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after buying an additional 3,993 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 199,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,318,000 after buying an additional 4,671 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,173.7% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 6,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 5,575 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.78 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.22 and a 200 day moving average of $74.30. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC cut 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. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.