Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 9,875 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,875 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $12,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 69.6% during the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2%

FAST opened at $51.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.11. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $52.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.