Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 557,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for about 1.4% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.10% of Fastenal worth $40,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after buying an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,262,000 after acquiring an additional 507,364 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 59.3% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,305,000 after acquiring an additional 345,537 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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 boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $74.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $75.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.02. The stock has a market cap of $42.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

About Fastenal

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.