Fastenal Stock Scheduled to Split on Thursday, May 22nd (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) shares are set to split on the morning of Thursday, May 22nd. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, April 23rd. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, May 21st.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $78.56. 1,900,729 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,095,403. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.32. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. 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 company has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $4,106,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 282,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,200,378.16. The trade was a 15.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 9,670 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.51, for a total value of $768,861.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,750. This represents a 27.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,238 shares of company stock valued at $6,546,578. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its position 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by 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.