Dearborn Partners LLC Trims Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Dearborn Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 541,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,233 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $21,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on FAST. Barclays set a $46.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.85.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.79 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 84.21%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.