Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Holdings Lessened by Covenant Asset Management LLC

Covenant Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 762 shares during the quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 7.6% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 23.3% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,324 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Fastenal by 2.1% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 341,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,328,000 after acquiring an additional 7,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Fastenal by 61.1% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 347,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,830,000 after acquiring an additional 131,887 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This represents a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $82.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.99 and its 200-day moving average is $69.60. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $59.47 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $47.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.01, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Bank of America began 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. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

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.