Simon Quick Advisors LLC Takes Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lifted its position in Fastenal by 73.0% during the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $75.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.31 and a 200 day moving average of $73.29. The company has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. 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 earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.