Insider Selling: Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) EVP Sells 34,612 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• John Lewis Soderberg, the Executive Vice President of Fastenal, sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock for a total of approximately $1.66 million at an average price of $48.03 on August 8th.
• Fastenal reported a quarterly net margin of 15.30% and a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.6%, with earnings per share beating analyst expectations at $0.29.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, yielding approximately 1.8%, with a payout ratio currently at 84.62%.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

John Lewis Soderberg also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 16th, John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of Fastenal stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $1,349,046.90.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $48.39. 1,711,307 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,638,287. The firm has a market cap of $55.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $43.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.61. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $48.43.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.36.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 106.4% during the 2nd quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. now owns 22,744 shares of the company's stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 11,722 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 65.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,929 shares of the company's stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Tableaux LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,815,000. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $215,000. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 99.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,982,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,266,000 after purchasing an additional 990,085 shares during the period. 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.

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