Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO Sells 15,000 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO decreased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,488 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $76.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.75 and its 200 day moving average is $73.17.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised 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. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.