ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,190,744 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,411 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.56% of Fastenal worth $200,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 6,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Fastenal by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 19,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 104,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,759,000 after buying an additional 5,324 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 78,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,105,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.43.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $70.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $53.83 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $40.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

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 value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal 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.