Global Retirement Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Global Retirement Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,403 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $74.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.15 and a 200 day moving average of $74.49. 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.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 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 analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio 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.