Norris Perne & French LLP MI Has $22.62 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 293,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,437 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for about 1.6% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $22,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 18,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.80.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.84. 5,921,891 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,313,607. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.84 and a 200 day moving average of $68.59. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.