Empirical Finance LLC Acquires 411 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,775 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.1% during the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FAST. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight 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, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.85 on Friday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $59.47 and a 52 week 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’s 50 day moving average price is $74.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio 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.