Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Raised to $40.00 at Morgan Stanley

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential downside of 3.83% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $37.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.40.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,198,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,164,112. The business's 50 day moving average is $39.61 and its 200-day moving average is $38.77. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $30.68 and a 52 week high of $42.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $47.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $1,349,046.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.66, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $487,616.07. The trade was a 71.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 193,200 shares of company stock valued at $7,895,625 over the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FAST. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Fastenal by 481.9% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.