IFP Advisors Inc Sells 849 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

IFP Advisors Inc decreased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,905 shares of the company’s stock after selling 849 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its position in Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 2.2 %

Fastenal stock opened at $75.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.09 and a 200 day moving average of $74.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

About Fastenal

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.