Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.43 Per Share

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 16th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of 0.43 per share on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39.

Fastenal has increased its dividend by an average of 11.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 25 years. Fastenal has a payout ratio of 66.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Fastenal to earn $2.19 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 71.2%.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.7 %

Fastenal stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $74.77. The company had a trading volume of 3,943,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,891,185. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The firm has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.82. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.27.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.