O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $10.38 Million Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,345 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,534 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $10,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Fastenal Stock Up 1.8 %

Fastenal stock opened at $77.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm 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%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.