PGGM Investments Sells 9,177 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

PGGM Investments lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 189,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,177 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $75.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. 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 50-day moving average price of $74.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.20.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC downgraded shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.