Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Plans $0.22 Quarterly Dividend

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 11th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share on Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%.

Fastenal has a dividend payout ratio of 73.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Fastenal to earn $2.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.8%.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.29 on Friday, hitting $43.27. 7,399,091 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,025,118. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $32.04 and a 52 week high of $44.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 4.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.12. The company has a market cap of $49.64 billion, a PE ratio of 43.06, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.96.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 31.99% and a net margin of 15.13%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $86.00 target price on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 11,136 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $452,065.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $768,861.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,750. This represents a 27.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 193,200 shares of company stock valued at $7,895,625. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Fastenal stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,276 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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