Guggenheim Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 215,337 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,666 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $15,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $522,558,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $101,183,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 301.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,478,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110,445 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,214,000 after acquiring an additional 886,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,836,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of FAST opened at $81.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.82 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.85 and its 200 day moving average is $76.47. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.10.

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.