Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares to Split on Thursday, May 22nd

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) are scheduled to split on the morning of Thursday, May 22nd. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, April 23rd. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, May 21st.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $79.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.36. The stock has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.10.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.19, for a total transaction of $452,065.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $4,106,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 282,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,200,378.16. This represents a 15.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,238 shares of company stock worth $6,546,578. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 0.9% during the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% during the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.