Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Buys 110,100 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,243,436 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 110,100 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.39% of Fastenal worth $161,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 21,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $487,616.07. This represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock opened at $81.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.64.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 87.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stephens raised their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.10.

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.