National Pension Service Trims Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

National Pension Service lowered its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 720,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,101 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $51,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $78.09 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $58.23 and a 12 month high of $79.04. 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 firm has a market capitalization 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $72.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.38.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,261 shares of company stock valued at $13,874,979. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.