Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Makes New $4.29 Million Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 59,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,290,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its position in Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $77.09 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. 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 presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of 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 assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.