Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Sells 179 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 84.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Fastenal by 61.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 347,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,830,000 after purchasing an additional 131,887 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 61,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,722,000 after purchasing an additional 7,418 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 372,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,750,000 after buying an additional 79,146 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on FAST shares. UBS Group started 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens increased 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $83.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.26 and a 200 day moving average of $69.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The company has a market cap of $47.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.33, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $59.47 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. 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.