KG&L Capital Management LLC Sells 178 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

KG&L Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $73.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455 over the last ninety days. 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.