D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 1,341 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,740 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FAST. MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $93,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 18,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 81.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 11,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Loop Capital cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $66.02 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $37.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.07. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.86 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.