Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 386 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 386 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $74.60 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.09 and its 200-day moving average is $74.54. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $42.78 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date 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.