Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Holdings Decreased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,472 shares of the company’s stock after selling 852 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 131.7% during 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 during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 184.9% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $826,988.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,392.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 11,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.10, for a total value of $826,988.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,392.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,049 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of FAST opened at $67.57 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $73.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.46. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.