Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 766,484 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,361,173 shares of the company’s stock after selling 766,484 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for approximately 1.3% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $97,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.6 %

FAST opened at $75.60 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.60 and a 200 day moving average of $73.26. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $43.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.