First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $920,000 Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 32.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,199 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,452 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,780,000 after purchasing an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Fastenal by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,957,000 after buying an additional 337,168 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,444,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,767,000 after buying an additional 413,572 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after acquiring an additional 957,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,445,000 after acquiring an additional 568,372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.5 %

FAST opened at $68.43 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.01. The firm has a market cap of $39.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.07. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.85 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,082 shares of company stock valued at $2,584,060 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. HSBC boosted their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. 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, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Five research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Company 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.