Palisade Asset Management LLC Sells 2,018 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Palisade Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,088 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,018 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank raised its position in Fastenal by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.33.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $66.78. 2,864,932 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,942,241. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.29. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.86 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

About Fastenal

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.