Prudential Financial Inc. Has $21.26 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 295,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,765 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Fastenal worth $21,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $77.09 on Thursday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.82.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued 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 return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.