Cohen & Steers Inc. Purchases 833 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,366 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,932,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 8,380 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $487,616.07. This represents a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.10.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.4 %

FAST stock opened at $81.65 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.82 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.47.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 87.56%.

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.