Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,145 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of FAST opened at $81.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.43. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.47 and a twelve month high of $84.88. 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 market capitalization of $46.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

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.