Savant Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,935 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC raised their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $66.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.23. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $52.86 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The company has a market cap of $38.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 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 firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares in the company, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently 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.