Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC reduced its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank raised its position in Fastenal by 3.1% in the third quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 7.4% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $70.45 on Monday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $50.30 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $40.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.00.

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.