Cullinan Associates Inc. Sells 56,200 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Cullinan Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Rating) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,579 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,200 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,997,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,288,982,000 after purchasing an additional 617,123 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 8.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,227,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,123,000 after buying an additional 681,328 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,502,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,642,000 after buying an additional 41,898 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.2% in the third quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,712,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,032,000 after buying an additional 143,378 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,220,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,467,000 after buying an additional 81,645 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $52.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $51.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.67. Fastenal has a one year low of $43.73 and a one year high of $60.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 3.96.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 19th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 34.38%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 1st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Terry Modock Owen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.24, for a total transaction of $798,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on FAST. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.14.

About Fastenal

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Fastenal Co engages in the distribution of fasteners and tools. It also operates hardware stores. The company was founded by Robert A. Kierlin, Michael M. Gostomski, Henry K. McCannon, John D. Remick, and Stephen M. Slaggie in November 1967 and is headquartered in Winona, MN.