O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 477,790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,716 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $19,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $646,046,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 106.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after buying an additional 2,242,116 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Fastenal by 1,039.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,253,000 after buying an additional 2,132,593 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday. Barclays set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.85.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $46.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $52.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.73. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.08.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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