Anchor Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,435 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 56.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,999 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 4,008.2% during 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 increased 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 worth $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after buying an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.7 %

FAST opened at $78.47 on Friday. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.33 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The stock has a market cap of $44.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.28.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.