Mariner LLC Sells 3,235 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Mariner LLC lessened its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 751,130 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,235 shares during the period. Mariner LLC owned about 0.13% of Fastenal worth $54,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 5,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 35,272 shares of the company's stock worth $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $270,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 55,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,975,000 after buying an additional 8,704 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $487,616.07. The trade was a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.54. 3,497,558 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,087,855. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.72. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $46.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.56, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 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 business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Fastenal 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.