Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 27,880 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,880 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Down 2.0 %

Fastenal stock 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. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.94. The company has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Company 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.