Bellecapital International Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Bellecapital International Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,314 shares of the company’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for about 1.9% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 497.3% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,522,000 after purchasing an additional 737,833 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,617,000 after purchasing an additional 569,118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, 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 value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $77.38. 715,717 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,352,719. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.91. The company has a market capitalization of $44.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $56.41 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

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.