Chicago Capital LLC Sells 2,676 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Chicago Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 145,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,676 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $10,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $73.24 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $41.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.43 and a 200 day moving average of $73.76. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.