Check Capital Management Inc. CA Lowers Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Check Capital Management Inc. CA lowered its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,785,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,064,631. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.21. The firm has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued 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 2.31%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total transaction of $1,633,607.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,640 shares of company stock worth $5,044,657. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.