Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,484,390 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,752 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $121,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Boosts Holdings in Fastenal

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 262,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,854,000 after purchasing an additional 37,588 shares in the last quarter.

M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 137,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,693,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. IBM Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. IBM Retirement Fund now owns 21,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,543 shares in the last quarter.

UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 10.1% in the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 4,013,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,985,000 after purchasing an additional 366,582 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.13% of the company’s stock.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 16th.

One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.30.

In other Fastenal news, Director Michael J. Ancius purchased 600 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.42 per share, for a total transaction of $29,052.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L.

Eastman purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.29 per share, with a total value of $48,290.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 6,950 shares of company stock valued at $327,042. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NASDAQ: FAST opened at $48.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 3.69, and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 4.39, and a quick ratio of 2.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.03. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $29.46 and a 1 year high of $51.89.

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 19th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 30.63% and a net margin of 15.12%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 3rd were given a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 2nd. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 81.16%.

About Fastenal

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, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.

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Article Source: The Markets Daily