Progressive Investment Management Corp Sells 2,318 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Progressive Investment Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,318 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises 2.4% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $76.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.89. The company has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

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.