Veracity Capital LLC Grows Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 38.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,476 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Ion Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $75.46 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week 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 stock has a market cap of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.27.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.