Ossiam Lowers Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Ossiam decreased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 62.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,484 shares during the period. Ossiam’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $80.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 39.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.79. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,616.07. The trade was a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. 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. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.10.

About Fastenal

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.