Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,999 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $77.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.13 and a 200 day moving average of $74.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.