Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) CEO Daniel L. Florness Sells 50,000 Shares

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $4,106,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 282,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,200,378.16. This represents a 15.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.78 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,031,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,090,693. The company has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.78, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day moving average is $76.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.09. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal's stock is going to split on the morning of 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 posted 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 analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 87.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,300,792 shares of the company's stock worth $5,199,150,000 after purchasing an additional 592,583 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,493,214,000 after acquiring an additional 886,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,918,464 shares of the company's stock worth $1,214,002,000 after acquiring an additional 234,713 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 74,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock worth $526,578,000 after purchasing an additional 966,629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

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.

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