Cypress Capital Group Decreases Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Cypress Capital Group reduced its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,384 shares of the company’s stock after selling 766 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.4 %

Fastenal stock opened at $74.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 3.58 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.82. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal 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.