Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after the company announced a dividend. Approximately 2,058,813 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the previous session’s volume of 2,798,541 shares.The stock last traded at $75.71 and had previously closed at $74.77.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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 boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.27.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This trade represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.