Daniel L. Johnson Sells 8,474 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of FAST opened at $81.85 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $74.64 and its 200 day moving average is $69.13. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $59.47 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $46.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $716,000. Marshfield Associates increased its stake in Fastenal by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 2,011,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,632,000 after acquiring an additional 10,123 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 169.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, EWA LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $190,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

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.