Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 234,713 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,918,464 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 234,713 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.95% of Fastenal worth $1,214,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 113,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,196,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Fastenal by 301.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,478,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110,445 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 144,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,380,000 after purchasing an additional 13,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Fastenal by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,503,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,164,000 after purchasing an additional 329,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock opened at $77.61 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $44.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.41 and a 200-day moving average of $76.09. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.