Daniel L. Johnson Purchases 3,350 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, 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 is available through this link.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $67.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. Fastenal has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.62 and a 200 day moving average of $66.29.

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). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after purchasing an additional 31,814 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $13,204,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 178.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 49,972 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $1,293,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 26.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 262,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,401,000 after acquiring an additional 55,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. 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 report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC lifted 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

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.