Simplicity Solutions LLC Has $519,000 Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,014 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 71,640 shares of company stock worth $5,044,657 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $67.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.21. The stock has a market cap of $38.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Fastenal 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.