Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $38.93 and traded as high as $43.21. Fastenal shares last traded at $42.79, with a volume of 2,959,238 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $86.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $49.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 4.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.93.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 31.99% and a net margin of 15.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 88.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $768,861.70. Following the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,987,750. The trade was a 27.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.06, for a total transaction of $4,106,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 565,036 shares in the company, valued at $23,200,378.16. The trade was a 15.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 193,200 shares of company stock valued at $7,895,625 in the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 481.9% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth $49,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% 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.

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