Amalgamated Bank Purchases 2,028 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 129,099 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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 issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

Fastenal stock opened at $74.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $42.78 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.09 and its 200 day moving average is $74.54. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.