Hills Bank & Trust Co Sells 1,429 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Hills Bank & Trust Co reduced its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 189,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,429 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises approximately 1.0% of Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.24.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research increased their target price 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. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.