Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Holdings Lessened by Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 391,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,295 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises approximately 2.0% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Fastenal worth $28,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Fastenal by 139.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 119,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,594,000 after purchasing an additional 69,558 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $723,000. Finally, Joule Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 4,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.27.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $76.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. 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 $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.