Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Has $724,000 Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,070 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,478 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Fastenal by 10.1% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 269.6% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 40.9% in the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $73.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market cap of $42.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.44 and a 200-day moving average of $73.94. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change 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 yield of 2.33%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.