Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 51,534 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,829,635 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,534 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.67% of Fastenal worth $275,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.10.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.7 %

Fastenal stock traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.73. The company had a trading volume of 3,196,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,094,554. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a PE ratio of 40.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $76.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.09. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Shares of Fastenal are scheduled to split on Thursday, May 22nd. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, April 23rd. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, May 21st.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $487,616.07. This represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

About Fastenal

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.