ICW Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,811 shares of the company’s stock after selling 842 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 9.6% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $857,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $345,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 12.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 197,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,129,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $74.73 on Monday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.65. The company has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.18, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on FAST shares. 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 note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.