Bfsg LLC Sells 370 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Bfsg LLC cut its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. 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 valued at $751,780,000 after acquiring an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,957,000 after buying an additional 337,168 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Fastenal by 5.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,444,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,767,000 after purchasing an additional 413,572 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Fastenal by 16.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after purchasing an additional 957,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Fastenal by 9.3% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,445,000 after purchasing an additional 568,372 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on 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 cut their price objective on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. HSBC lifted their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $67.51. 703,129 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,989,125. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.64. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060. 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.