New York Life Investment Management LLC Sells 7,866 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

New York Life Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 76,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,866 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $75.73 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.61. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s 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.