Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Holdings Reduced by Nicholas Company Inc.

Nicholas Company Inc. lowered its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,401,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,880 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $56,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,604,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,268,000 after purchasing an additional 173,581 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Fastenal by 0.3% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,276,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,860,000 after purchasing an additional 26,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,282,000 after purchasing an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $44.17 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $50.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.75. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 84.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.