Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Position Lowered by Eads & Heald Wealth Management

Eads & Heald Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp grew its position in Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after acquiring an additional 737,833 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after acquiring an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,262,000 after acquiring an additional 507,364 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.0 %

Fastenal stock opened at $76.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.17. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current 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 is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Fastenal 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.