Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 24.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,041 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,922 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,734 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,179,000 after acquiring an additional 66,130 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,794,000 after acquiring an additional 517,172 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FAST. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price 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. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.63.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $70.00 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a one year low of $55.42 and a one year high of $79.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.10. The stock has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity 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 $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.