Fox Run Management L.L.C. Invests $481,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $77.09 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.81. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.