Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.10.

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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 increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.19, for a total transaction of $452,065.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,568 shares of company stock worth $5,777,716 in the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $522,558,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 8,541.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock worth $131,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,628 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,081,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,319 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $101,183,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 301.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,478,233 shares of the company's stock worth $106,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110,445 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.04. The company had a trading volume of 99,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,084,179. 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's 50 day moving average price is $77.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.14. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $45.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal shares are set to split on Thursday, May 22nd. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, April 23rd. The newly created shares will be distributed 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 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 87.56%.

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.