J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 495 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 495 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 121.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 4,494 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at $207,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 982,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,167,000 after buying an additional 45,970 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 13,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 33,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,406,000 after buying an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of FAST opened at $74.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.54 and a 200 day moving average of $74.17.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two 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 MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.