Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stake Reduced by Bfsg LLC

Bfsg LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,413 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,983 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $747,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,126,000 after acquiring an additional 58,726 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 205.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 18,281 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 499.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,186,000 after acquiring an additional 110,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 7.2% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,371,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,316,000 after purchasing an additional 91,754 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 139,799 shares of company stock valued at $9,967,510. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.1 %

Fastenal stock opened at $77.77 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.95. The firm has a market cap of $44.53 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $56.41 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued 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 2.01%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Fastenal 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.