Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Buys 17,672 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 384,029 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,672 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Fastenal worth $27,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in 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. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $74.73 on Friday. 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.52. The stock has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.