Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Sells $706,392.64 in Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST traded down $1.46 on Thursday, reaching $82.16. The stock had a trading volume of 3,208,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,319,513. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.07 billion, a PE ratio of 41.60, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.47 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.30 and a 200 day moving average of $69.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its position in Fastenal by 42.8% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 4,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 11.1% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 7,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 13.6% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 24,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 199,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,232,000 after purchasing an additional 6,218 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens increased their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

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.