Albert D Mason Inc. Sells 5,557 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Albert D Mason Inc. reduced its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,193 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,557 shares during the quarter. Albert D Mason Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after buying an additional 193,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other 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 value of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $76.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The stock has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.93. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC lowered shares of 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.27.

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.