Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FASTGet Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. 2,058,813 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the previous session’s volume of 2,798,541 shares.The stock last traded at $75.71 and had previously closed at $74.77.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.27.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on FAST

Fastenal Trading Up 1.7 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.82. The company has a market cap of $43.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FASTGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % 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. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after buying an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,659,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,438.4% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 41,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 38,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 6,195 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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