Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 43.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,309 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. SVB Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 8,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $246,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $1,932,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 46,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,999,000 after purchasing an additional 11,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total transaction of $1,633,607.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 71,640 shares of company stock valued at $5,044,657. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $67.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $38.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.21.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Fastenal 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.