Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 90,697 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 71.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90,697 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 199,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,318,000 after acquiring an additional 4,671 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,173.7% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 6,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 5,575 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 17,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.0 %

FAST stock opened at $74.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal 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.