Savant Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,181 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 58,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,201,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 3,180 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $310,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 121.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 4,494 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $74.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.10. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.