Reyne Wisecup Sells 36,920 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Reyne Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,186,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,080,368. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.26 and a 200 day moving average of $44.33. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.35 billion, a PE ratio of 42.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after buying an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,196,502,000 after purchasing an additional 631,889 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,031,000 after purchasing an additional 919,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,508,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FAST. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.83.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.