Fmr LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fmr LLC trimmed its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 671,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 224,210 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 0.12% of Fastenal worth $47,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after buying an additional 737,833 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Fastenal by 19.9% in the second 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after acquiring an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,659,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 517,172 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $81.05 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.85. 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 capitalization of $46.43 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.00. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.33 and a 1-year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. This represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 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.