Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 176,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,087 shares during the quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $76.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

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.