Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Compass Ion Advisors LLC

Compass Ion Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 205,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,693,000 after acquiring an additional 36,673 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 12,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $76.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $43.63 billion, a PE ratio of 37.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.46. 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.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Company 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.