Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 73.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,907 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 56.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.4% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 6,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $2,038,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 33,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after buying an additional 1,599 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.10.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.76 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.57. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 87.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,616.07. The trade was a 71.44 % 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. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.