Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Sells 231 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 231 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 51.0% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.53 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FAST. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.