Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys New Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 9.8% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 174,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,496,000 after buying an additional 15,553 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 354,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,327,000 after purchasing an additional 6,659 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.5% during the third quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 56,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,047,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 12.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 197,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,129,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. The trade was a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $83.56 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.34. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.49 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FAST. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group began 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. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

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.