Harfst & Associates Inc. Acquires 710 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Harfst & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,496 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for 0.6% of Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 68,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,932,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $73.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.54. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $42.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued 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). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.