Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 478,846 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,878,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 478,846 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $337,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 197.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 96.1% in the second quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.00, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.33.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 87.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Fastenal Company 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.