Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys 187,995 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 37.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 693,950 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 187,995 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $49,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,932,000 after purchasing an additional 7,559 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $74.78 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.49. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.