Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,371 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 131.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Fastenal by 184.9% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were acquired 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 $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,640 shares of company stock valued at $5,044,657. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HSBC boosted their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST traded up $0.42 on Friday, reaching $67.92. The stock had a trading volume of 804,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,023,523. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.67 and a 200 day moving average of $66.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.