Verity & Verity LLC Takes Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $438,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Fastenal by 3.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This trade represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $76.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.93.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stephens boosted their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.27.

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.