Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 91,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,635 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 21.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 205,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,693,000 after acquiring an additional 36,673 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 12,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 9.7% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $76.09 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.90 and its 200 day moving average is $75.46. 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 posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Company 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.