Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 5,171 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 152,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,171 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 4.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,957,000 after buying an additional 337,168 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $406,767,000 after buying an additional 413,572 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 16.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,563,000 after acquiring an additional 957,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Fastenal by 9.3% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,445,000 after acquiring an additional 568,372 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,082 shares of company stock valued at $2,584,060 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. HSBC increased their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.0 %

FAST stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.17. 2,802,015 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,004,192. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $52.66 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.41 and a 200-day moving average of $66.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.