Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by Loudon Investment Management LLC

Loudon Investment Management LLC grew its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,284 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for 3.4% of Loudon Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Fastenal by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after purchasing an additional 31,814 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $13,204,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 178.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,054,000 after buying an additional 49,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,293,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,082 shares of company stock valued at $2,584,060 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $68.09. The company had a trading volume of 3,080,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,957,131. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.29 and its 200-day moving average is $67.00. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $52.85 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

About Fastenal

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.