Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,087 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FAST. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $402,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 98,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,107,000 after acquiring an additional 10,239 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $832,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641 shares during the period. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.9 %

Fastenal stock opened at $76.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.52. The firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

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

About Fastenal

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.