Financial Counselors Inc. Acquires 324 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,880 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% in the third quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7.4% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 48,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $70.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.91. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $50.30 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total transaction of $1,633,607.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.