William Joseph Drazkowski Sells 16,362 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3 %

Fastenal stock opened at $77.90 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.97. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $56.41 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $747,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,126,000 after purchasing an additional 58,726 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 205.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 18,281 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Fastenal by 499.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,186,000 after buying an additional 110,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Fastenal by 7.2% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,371,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,316,000 after acquiring an additional 91,754 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens upped their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.33.

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.