Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 326,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,056 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $13,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,604,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,268,000 after purchasing an additional 173,581 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,276,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,860,000 after purchasing an additional 26,702 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,282,000 after buying an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $43.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $50.15 billion, a PE ratio of 38.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.17 and a 200 day moving average of $43.70.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.77.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.