Cetera Investment Advisers Cuts Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Cetera Investment Advisers cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 412,917 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,694 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $19,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,196,502,000 after buying an additional 631,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,898,031,000 after acquiring an additional 919,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,508,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,047 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $646,046,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.83.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.43. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $54.67 billion, a PE ratio of 40.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The company’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.36%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.