Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 17,465 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,698,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,465 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for about 1.7% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Fastenal worth $122,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 60,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,347,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 83.1% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 29,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 13,307 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 33,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,038,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.40.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.60. 353,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,228,517. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.33 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.25. The firm has a market cap of $41.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 158,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,639,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company 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.