Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 67,126 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 348,556 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67,126 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $25,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.68. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $46.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.10.

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.