Insider Selling: Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) EVP Sells 6,842 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• William Joseph Drazkowski, EVP of Fastenal, sold 6,842 shares at an average price of $48.67, reducing his ownership by 36.32% and leaving him with a total of 11,994 shares valued at approximately $583,748.
• Fastenal reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28, with revenue of $2.08 billion, up 8.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a dividend payout ratio of 84.62%.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Fastenal Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of FAST stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.39. 5,442,493 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,864,219. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $45.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.32. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $50.60. The company has a market cap of $57.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 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.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 7.5% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,074,000 after acquiring an additional 12,721 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,180,000 after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 21.5% during the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 6,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 23.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,459,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,705,000 after acquiring an additional 473,987 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.