Insider Selling: Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) CFO Sells $2,295,600.00 in Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) CFO Holden Lewis sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.52, for a total value of $2,295,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,094.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3 %

FAST opened at $77.90 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $56.41 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.03. The company has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 497.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,478 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after buying an additional 737,833 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Fastenal by 19.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after acquiring an additional 569,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% 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.