Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) EVP William Joseph Drazkowski Sells 15,000 Shares

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $81.65 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $46.82 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.47.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 87.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.10.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,300,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,199,150,000 after acquiring an additional 592,583 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,214,000 after purchasing an additional 886,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,918,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,214,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,713 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,112,000 after purchasing an additional 74,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,578,000 after buying an additional 966,629 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.