Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) is Diversified Investment Strategies LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Diversified Investment Strategies LLC cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up 3.7% of Diversified Investment Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 74.0% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 9,351 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 333,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,956,000 after buying an additional 29,708 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 397,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,951,000 after buying an additional 4,410 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 10.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 138,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,722,000 after acquiring an additional 13,045 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upped their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 63,772 shares of company stock worth $5,365,455. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.