Natixis Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,889 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,831 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of FAST opened at $76.46 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.47. The firm has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.