Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,106 shares of the company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank boosted its position in Fastenal by 3.1% during the third quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.1% during the third quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $67.57 on Friday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.62 and a 200 day moving average of $66.29. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors 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 yield of 2.31%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Insiders sold a total of 71,640 shares of company stock worth $5,044,657 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

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.