Sei Investments Co. Sells 102,910 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Sei Investments Co. cut its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 355,746 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102,910 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $25,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.1% in 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after buying an additional 886,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,655,000 after buying an additional 26,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,974,000 after acquiring an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $77.09 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.82. The stock has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. 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 released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase 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 yield of 2.23%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.