Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes $5.76 Million Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 80,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,757,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of FAST opened at $76.09 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $43.63 billion, a PE ratio of 37.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.46. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC downgraded 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. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal 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.