Clarus Wealth Advisors Sells 226 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Clarus Wealth Advisors lessened its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Clarus Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,588,000 after buying an additional 5,509 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $747,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,282,000. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $2,338,000 after buying an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $65.34 on Friday. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $37.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.59.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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 increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.80.

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.