Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Holdings Lifted by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,543 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,968 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in Fastenal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,932,000 after acquiring an additional 7,559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $75.73 on Friday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.61. The firm has a market cap of $43.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.