Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 17,465 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,698,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,465 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises approximately 1.7% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $122,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $99,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 270.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 5,209 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 184,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,611,000 after purchasing an additional 12,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $388,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST traded down $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $71.60. 353,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,228,517. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $41.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.25. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.33 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value 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 represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,639,438 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

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.