Carnegie Investment Counsel Has $368,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,111 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in Fastenal by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.27.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $76.08 on Friday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.92 and its 200 day moving average is $73.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

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.