Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 303,807 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,497,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 303,807 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.13% of Fastenal worth $464,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 528.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $83.57 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $58.28 and a 12 month high of $83.80. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.48. The company has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.58, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

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.