1,400 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Bought by CoreFirst Bank & Trust

CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $77.09 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

About Fastenal

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.