Alta Capital Management LLC Buys 1,723 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Alta Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,389 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the period. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $74.38 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $42.65 billion, a PE ratio of 37.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.78.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 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.