Sheryl Ann Lisowski Sells 21,052 Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.9%

FAST stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Monday, reaching $46.48. 2,120,912 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,015,164. The business's 50 day moving average price is $42.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.52. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $32.04 and a 52-week high of $46.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.34 billion, a PE ratio of 44.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.96.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $496,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $409,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 13,208 shares of the company's stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,177 shares of the company's stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 2,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Hedge funds and other 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.