Hendershot Investments Inc. Sells 732 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Hendershot Investments Inc. cut its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 732 shares during the quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 51.0% during the third 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 last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $73.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.86.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,772 shares of company stock worth $5,365,455 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.