Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 85.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,078 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,183 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at about $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% during the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $73.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during 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 revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

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.