Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 280,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,304 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $20,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This trade represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $77.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.38.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.