Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 283.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 755 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $49,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,780,000 after acquiring an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,957,000 after purchasing an additional 337,168 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,444,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,767,000 after buying an additional 413,572 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Fastenal by 16.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,563,000 after buying an additional 957,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,445,000 after buying an additional 568,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the 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 purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of Fastenal 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 purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $66.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $38.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.86 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.29.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid 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 yield of 2.35%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.33.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.