Flputnam Investment Management Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 865 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after purchasing an additional 31,814 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,204,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 178.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,054,000 after buying an additional 49,972 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth $1,293,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 26.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 262,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,401,000 after buying an additional 55,491 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of FAST opened at $68.48 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.23%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. HSBC raised their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

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.