Compass Capital Management Inc. Sells 44,613 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Compass Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 813,941 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,613 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for 3.8% of Compass Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $58,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of FAST opened at $73.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.78.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,772 shares of company stock worth $5,365,455 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.