Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 3,271 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,271 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $77.09 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.23 and its 200 day moving average is $75.81. 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 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

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.