Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) EVP William Joseph Drazkowski Sells 15,000 Shares

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $487,616.07. The trade was a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,135,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,100,503. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stephens boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,300,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,199,150,000 after acquiring an additional 592,583 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after acquiring an additional 886,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,918,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,214,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,713 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 74,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,578,000 after purchasing an additional 966,629 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

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.