Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 72,200 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 31.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,288 shares of the company's stock after selling 72,200 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $11,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on FAST. William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens raised their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.10.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:FAST traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.44. 2,965,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,088,251. The company has a market cap of $46.70 billion, a PE ratio of 40.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.82.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

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.