Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,039 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,235 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Ion Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% in the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $76.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.52. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This trade represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.