TIAA Trust National Association Decreases Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

TIAA Trust National Association lessened its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 645 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 131.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 184.9% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 158.8% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.50.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $76.35 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $50.30 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.57 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.69 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.23%.

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.