Golden State Equity Partners Lowers Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Golden State Equity Partners trimmed its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,358 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $73.24 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.76. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $41.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.02. 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 (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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 yield of 2.35%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.