Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 971 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,651 shares of the company’s stock after selling 971 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 33,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 7,701.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,730,000 after buying an additional 266,390 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,119,000 after buying an additional 5,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in Fastenal by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 112,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,054,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of FAST opened at $74.78 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.29 and a 200 day moving average of $74.24. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC lowered 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.