Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,059 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,731 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 47.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,344,000 after buying an additional 1,505,936 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,179,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,163,000 after buying an additional 1,002,004 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 16.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after buying an additional 957,091 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 80.0% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,600,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,435,000 after buying an additional 711,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Fastenal by 9.3% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,445,000 after buying an additional 568,372 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,082 shares of company stock valued at $2,584,060 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.43. The company had a trading volume of 2,592,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,941,271. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $52.85 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.21 and its 200 day moving average is $67.01. The company has a market cap of $39.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of 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 cut their target price on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five equities 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.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus 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.