Private Advisor Group LLC Has $6.38 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,651 shares of the company’s stock after selling 971 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $74.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

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.