Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Buys 3,536 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,453 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,536 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Cozad Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $988,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Finally, First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.7 %

FAST stock opened at $79.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.