Fielder Capital Group LLC Acquires New Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 283.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,285. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,285. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.33 on Tuesday, reaching $66.41. 4,498,718 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,964,224. The stock has a market cap of $38.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $52.86 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

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. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. 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.