Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $40.77 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 567,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,768 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Fastenal worth $40,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third 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 position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on 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 given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $79.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.99. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

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.