Sigma Planning Corp Trims Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Sigma Planning Corp decreased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,231 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,299 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its position in Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $74.60 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.09 and its 200 day moving average is $74.54. The company has a market cap of $42.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.