Curbstone Financial Management Corp Raises Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Stephens upped 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. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $76.25 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.18 and a 200-day moving average of $73.52.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.