Harvey Investment Co. LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 541,529 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,150 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises about 4.5% of Harvey Investment Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Harvey Investment Co. LLC owned about 0.09% of Fastenal worth $38,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company's stock worth $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,419,690,000 after acquiring an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,262,000 after acquiring an additional 507,364 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 59.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,305,000 after purchasing an additional 345,537 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Fastenal
In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens boosted their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on FAST
Fastenal Trading Up 0.5 %
Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 778,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,128,834. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $75.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.02. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $42.43 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Fastenal Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.
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.
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