Chilton Investment Co. Inc. Sells 14,053 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Chilton Investment Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 46.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,053 shares during the quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,509 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Fastenal by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,304,000 after buying an additional 31,814 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $1,282,000. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $13,204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. HSBC lifted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $64.53 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.38. The stock has a market cap of $36.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.