DF Dent & Co. Inc. Sells 212,779 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,297,216 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212,779 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up about 2.1% of DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $165,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $78.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.46 and a 200-day moving average of $76.11. The stock has a market cap of $44.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.81, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

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.