Stephens Inc. AR Sells 501 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,321 shares of the company’s stock after selling 501 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $74.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. HSBC lowered 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research increased 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 issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

About Fastenal

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.