12,722 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Bought by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,334,000 after buying an additional 193,734 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,974,000 after acquiring an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,179,000 after acquiring an additional 66,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,469,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,221,000 after acquiring an additional 48,977 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $83.56 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $59.49 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.34.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. This represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.