Nicholas Company Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Nicholas Company Inc. cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,156,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,900 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up 1.3% of Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $83,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 886,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,655,000 after buying an additional 26,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.26 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. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.29. The company has a market cap of $43.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.