Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) EVP Sells $1,219,650.00 in Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total transaction of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,497,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,087,855. The business's fifty day moving average price is $76.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.68. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $46.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 87.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 28,573 shares of the company's stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company's stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Company 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.