Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Has $18.48 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 285,339 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,095 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for about 1.4% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $18,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,936 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,563,000 after purchasing an additional 957,091 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,600,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,435,000 after purchasing an additional 711,265 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,445,000 after purchasing an additional 568,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,780,000 after purchasing an additional 423,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $68.14. 2,711,229 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,015,482. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.65. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $39.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given 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 2.29%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,082 shares of company stock valued at $2,584,060. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.