London Co. of Virginia Lowers Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

London Co. of Virginia decreased its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,039,665 shares of the company’s stock after selling 138,039 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $202,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $646,046,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,132,593 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $46.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a PE ratio of 40.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $38.97 and a one year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS 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%.Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors 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 yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 84.21%.

About Fastenal

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.