Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Buys 255 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,690 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.24. The company has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

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.