Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson Acquires 3,350 Shares

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.98 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.50. 3,583,476 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,068,358. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $38.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 18,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

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.