Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Optas LLC

Optas LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,768 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,536 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after buying an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1,789.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Fastenal by 59.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 345,537 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $73.72 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $76.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.78. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.