Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 58,571 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,514,428 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58,571 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.79% of Fastenal worth $324,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $77.61 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.09. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $44.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.61, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. 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 2.22%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective 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 two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.