Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $30.22 Million Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 466,505 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,550 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up 1.2% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $30,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after buying an additional 31,814 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,204,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Fastenal by 178.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 49,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,592,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,096,502. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.18. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $52.85 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,285. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

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.