Empirical Finance LLC Cuts Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after acquiring an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,262,000 after purchasing an additional 507,364 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 59.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,305,000 after acquiring an additional 345,537 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of FAST opened at $73.84 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.