Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 77,568 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 294,094 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,568 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $646,046,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Fastenal by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,118,000 after buying an additional 7,943,217 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after buying an additional 2,346,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after buying an additional 2,242,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Fastenal by 1,039.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,253,000 after buying an additional 2,132,593 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.85.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $46.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.73. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 84.21%.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.