Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,920 shares of the company’s stock after selling 457 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FAST. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $74.78 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.43. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during 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%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend 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.