Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,751 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $77.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.09. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.