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

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.12. 313,163 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,305,976. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $59.47 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.64 and a 200-day moving average of $69.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Stephens upped their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.80.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after purchasing an additional 737,833 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,659,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Fastenal by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,794,000 after acquiring an additional 517,172 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.