Boston Research & Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Boston Research & Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 107,655 shares of the company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for approximately 1.9% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $76.17 on Monday. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.35 and a 200-day moving average of $75.98.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of 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 shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.