Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Acquired by Lantz Financial LLC

Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 23,502 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after buying an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,262,000 after acquiring an additional 507,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Fastenal by 59.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,305,000 after acquiring an additional 345,537 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

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.