Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp lowered its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 18.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 915 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 528.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 a total of 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $83.75 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.87. The company has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $59.47 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued 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 1.86%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.