Marino Stram & Associates LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,566 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 194,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,021,000 after purchasing an additional 16,164 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 89.3% in the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 3,994 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 3,320 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stephens raised their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.6 %

FAST opened at $75.60 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.