UMB Bank n.a. Grows Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 139.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,512 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,558 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $76.08. 7,826,844 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,372,262. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.07. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.