Inspire Investing LLC Lowers Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,053 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,107 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.46 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.27. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly 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). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.