Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by Arjuna Capital

Arjuna Capital lessened its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 52,483 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,060 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth $30,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, March 27th. Five equities research 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.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.77.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $43.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.64. The company has a market cap of $49.66 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.75. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The business’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Fastenal

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.