Insider Selling: Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) CAO Sells 13,567 Shares of Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,264.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3 %

FAST opened at $77.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $56.41 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.03. The company has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 737,833 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after buying an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,617,000 after buying an additional 569,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Stephens increased their price target 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned 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 $73.33.

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.