Krane Funds Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 93.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 445 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,884 shares during the period. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 58,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,201,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its position in Fastenal by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 68,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,919,000 after purchasing an additional 3,937 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Fastenal by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 31,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,285,000 after purchasing an additional 9,462 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 354,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,327,000 after buying an additional 6,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 9,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens lifted 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. 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. In related news, Director Nicholas J. Lundquist sold 22,532 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.15, for a total value of $1,738,343.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 426,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,865,900. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 162,331 shares of company stock worth $11,705,854 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $77.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $69.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.02. The firm has a market cap of $44.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.63, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $56.41 and a 1 year high of $79.04.

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 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.