Kestra Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alethea Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $418,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 59.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,305,000 after buying an additional 345,537 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 42.8% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 4,339 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 7,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Fastenal by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 24,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $83.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,346,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,272,234. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $59.49 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $77.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.34.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

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.