First Financial Bank Trust Division Has $1.77 Million Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $99,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 270.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 5,209 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 7.3% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 184,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,611,000 after purchasing an additional 12,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $388,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $71.11. 2,121,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,228,517. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.25. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.33 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The stock has a market cap of $40.74 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This represents a 73.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.40.

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.