Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Private Advisor Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,371 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,780,000 after acquiring an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Fastenal by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,957,000 after buying an additional 337,168 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,444,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,767,000 after acquiring an additional 413,572 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after buying an additional 957,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Fastenal by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,445,000 after purchasing an additional 568,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Fastenal Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $66.78 on Thursday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.86 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.