Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP trimmed its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 63.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,889 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,817 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 47.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505,936 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 16.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,563,000 after buying an additional 957,091 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 80.0% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,600,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,435,000 after buying an additional 711,265 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,445,000 after buying an additional 568,372 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,780,000 after buying an additional 423,112 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $67.74 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.49 and a 200 day moving average of $66.64. The company has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 36,082 shares of company stock valued at $2,584,060 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal 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.