US Bancorp DE Cuts Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

US Bancorp DE decreased its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 649,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,664 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.11% of Fastenal worth $42,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,780,000 after buying an additional 423,112 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased 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 worth $468,957,000 after acquiring an additional 337,168 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 413,572 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Fastenal by 9.3% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3 %

FAST traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.02. The company had a trading volume of 2,752,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,993,408. 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 12-month low of $52.86 and a 12-month high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $37.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.68, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

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.