Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Veracity Capital LLC

Veracity Capital LLC boosted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,476 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the quarter. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $75.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.44 and a 200 day moving average of $73.27. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens upped their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal 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.