1,021 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Purchased by Stonebridge Financial Group LLC

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 8,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 2,083 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 53,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 note on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $73.68 on Thursday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two 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 market cap of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.