Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Nicollet Investment Management Inc.

Nicollet Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,932 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

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 transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This trade represents a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock valued at $19,240,434 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $81.85 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.22. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $59.47 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The firm 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. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

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.