Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 206 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% in the third quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.7% in the second quarter. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7.4% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.20.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $75.90 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 4.57. The stock has a market cap of $43.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $50.30 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 15.72%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

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.