Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 466 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 227,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,392,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 37,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,696,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 68,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,932,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised their target price 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $74.09 on Friday. 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 has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $42.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.54.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Fastenal’s payout ratio 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.