Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 342 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,768 shares of the company’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 283.2% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in Fastenal by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 623,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,411,000 after purchasing an additional 164,971 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 3,452 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 89,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,781,000 after purchasing an additional 7,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,285. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC upped their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.6 %

FAST traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $67.75. 1,437,243 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,936,313. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.85 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.79 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

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.