Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stake Increased by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,407 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 23,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 908,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,046,000 after buying an additional 4,967 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 170,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,142,000 after buying an additional 10,915 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $689,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FAST. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $84.10 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $59.47 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a PE ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.