Candriam S.C.A. Decreases Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Candriam S.C.A. cut its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 49,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,464 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. raised its stake in Fastenal by 73.0% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 8,380 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $79.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.27 and a 200 day moving average of $74.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal 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.