First Long Island Investors LLC Sells 1,831 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

First Long Island Investors LLC decreased its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 334,869 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,831 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up about 1.9% of First Long Island Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. First Long Island Investors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $23,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $310,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Fastenal by 499.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,186,000 after purchasing an additional 110,027 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Fastenal in the first quarter worth $11,212,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 5.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,259,000 after purchasing an additional 11,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $2,643,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 230,553 shares of company stock valued at $17,269,993 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.77. 557,446 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,307,076. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, 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. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $59.47 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.13.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.