Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,021,993 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,367 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.18% of Fastenal worth $73,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,300,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,199,150,000 after buying an additional 592,583 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company's stock worth $1,493,214,000 after purchasing an additional 886,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,918,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,214,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,713 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $522,558,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,628,282 shares of the company's stock worth $476,640,000 after purchasing an additional 33,718 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total transaction of $1,219,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of FAST stock traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $80.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,647,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,082,795. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $76.55 and its 200 day moving average is $76.82. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.99 billion, a PE ratio of 39.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.56%.

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.