Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV Reduces Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,227 shares of the company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during 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. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $74.78 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.43. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. 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

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.