Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 766,484 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Riverbridge Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 36.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,361,173 shares of the company’s stock after selling 766,484 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for about 1.3% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned about 0.24% of Fastenal worth $97,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after purchasing an additional 737,833 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,262,000 after purchasing an additional 507,364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.60 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.26. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Company 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.