Candriam S.C.A. Decreases Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,464 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $101,183,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after buying an additional 886,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1,789.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,262,000 after buying an additional 507,364 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $79.98 on Friday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.99. The company has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.