Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 2,641 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,834 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,641 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. 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. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9 %

Fastenal stock opened at $74.08 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.67. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $42.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

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.