Ossiam Lowers Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Ossiam cut its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 62.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,484 shares during the period. Ossiam’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $956,000 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 the company. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Fastenal by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,932,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of FAST opened at $80.29 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 39.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.79. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast 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, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 87.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,616.07. This represents a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.10.

Fastenal 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.