Larson Financial Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Larson Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 35.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,543 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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 lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $77.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $44.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.19. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business 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. 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 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio 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.