BTC Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

BTC Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 277,710 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,158 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,196,502,000 after acquiring an additional 631,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,031,000 after acquiring an additional 919,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,508,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,047 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $646,046,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.57.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $46.26 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $53.11 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.56. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Fastenal Profile

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.