Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Cuts Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI cut its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,488 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,756,000. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $873,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $79.98 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Fastenal Company 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.