D.A. Davidson & CO. Grows Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,263 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.5% during the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 4.5% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $83.56 on Friday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $59.49 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. 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 simple moving average is $77.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.31.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on FAST. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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 report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

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.