Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Holdings Increased by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 15.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,888 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 497.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,478 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 valued at $241,161,000 after buying an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Fastenal by 21.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,617,000 after acquiring an additional 569,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,553,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,553,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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 sold 190,261 shares of company stock valued at $13,874,979 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 7.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $83.57 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $58.28 and a 1-year high of $83.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.58, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

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.