True North Advisors LLC Purchases 42,925 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

True North Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 129.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 76,125 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 42,925 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up 1.3% of True North Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. True North Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HSBC downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,553,400. This trade represents a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $75.60 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $43.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.26. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

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.