KLCM Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

KLCM Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 846 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 131.7% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 184.9% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,844,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,041,681. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.18. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

About Fastenal

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.