Cullinan Associates Inc. Has $3.84 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Cullinan Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 53,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,170 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,262,000 after acquiring an additional 507,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,305,000 after purchasing an additional 345,537 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $73.72 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.78. The company has a market cap of $42.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.