VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC Trims Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 515 shares during the quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $75.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.24.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on FAST. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.