Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Has $28.14 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 391,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,295 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises 2.0% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $28,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.27.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $76.08 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap 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. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly 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). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 85.57%.

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.