Insider Selling: Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Sells 8,474 Shares of Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.7 %

FAST traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,208,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,319,513. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.30 and its 200-day moving average is $69.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.60, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $59.47 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth $223,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth $287,000. Windsor Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth $11,212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.