Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by Focus Financial Network Inc.

Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,600 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,083 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 3.8% in 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 in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $73.68 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 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.