Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by Golden State Equity Partners

Golden State Equity Partners boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,239 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,594,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,972,000 after acquiring an additional 60,689 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 15,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 108,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,387,000 after acquiring an additional 7,013 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 57.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 7,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 2,712 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 126,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sold a total of 179,373 shares of company stock valued at $13,029,308 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $78.34 on Thursday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.11. The company has a market cap of $44.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $58.04 and a 12 month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

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.