SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes $49,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $988,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 20.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $655,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $79.80 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $74.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.13. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.