Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $270,000.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.
Fastenal Stock Up 1.3 %
NASDAQ FAST traded up $1.08 on Tuesday, reaching $81.37. The company had a trading volume of 328,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,077,278. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company's fifty day moving average is $76.42 and its 200 day moving average is $76.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Fastenal Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.56%.
Insider Activity at Fastenal
In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,616.07. This represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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, January 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.10.
View Our Latest Report on Fastenal
About Fastenal
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also

Before you consider Fastenal, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Fastenal wasn't on the list.
While Fastenal currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.