Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $49.90 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 37.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 693,950 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187,995 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Fastenal worth $49,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $74.78 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.15 and its 200 day moving average is $74.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Fastenal Company 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.