Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI Lowers Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lessened its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,767 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6 %

Fastenal stock opened at $75.14 on Friday. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.23.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.