PDS Planning Inc Invests $218,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

PDS Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $873,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 8,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $76.46 on Thursday. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.97 and its 200 day moving average is $75.47.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.