Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stake Increased by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 74,605.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,147 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,112 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,179,000 after buying an additional 66,130 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,794,000 after purchasing an additional 517,172 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 purchasing an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after purchasing an additional 569,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents 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 valued at $13,029,308 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $75.85 on Friday. 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 $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $57.01 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.98.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. 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. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

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.