Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Trust Co

Fiduciary Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,785 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Fastenal by 3.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after buying an additional 193,734 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,179,000 after buying an additional 66,130 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,469,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,221,000 after buying an additional 48,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $83.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $59.47 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.08. The company has a market capitalization of $47.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

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.