Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) VP Sells $37,244.16 in Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $77.90 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.03. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $56.41 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.