Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson Sells 8,474 Shares

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.0 %

FAST traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 313,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,305,976. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.47 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 10.1% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 24,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,262,000 after acquiring an additional 507,364 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $909,000. Alethea Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Fastenal by 59.3% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,305,000 after buying an additional 345,537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

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.