3,151 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Acquired by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.5% during the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.1% during the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Stephens increased 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $78.09 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a one year low of $58.23 and a one year high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $44.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.35 and a 200-day moving average of $68.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

About Fastenal

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.