Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Albert D Mason Inc.

Albert D Mason Inc. lowered its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,193 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,557 shares during the quarter. Albert D Mason Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,553,400. This trade represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal 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 sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.08. 7,826,844 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,372,262. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.92 and a 200 day moving average of $73.00. The stock has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Fastenal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $86.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.27.

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.