Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 64,808 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,766,143 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,808 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.41% of Fastenal worth $887,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,588,000 after buying an additional 5,509 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after buying an additional 31,814 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after buying an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,204,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 178.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,054,000 after purchasing an additional 49,972 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $66.62. 1,378,674 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,934,822. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. Fastenal has a one year low of $52.86 and a one year high of $79.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released 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 net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of 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 lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

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.