Flputnam Investment Management Co. Reduces Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 865 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Berkshire Bank boosted its stake in Fastenal by 3.1% during the third quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 1.1% during the third quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC lifted their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.5 %

FAST stock opened at $68.48 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.19 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.05. 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 has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $79.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.20.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued 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). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

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.