Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $17.29 Million Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 26.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,026 shares of the company's stock after selling 87,720 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $17,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 57.9% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 7,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $237,000. Team Hewins LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 4.8% in the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 118,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,125,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 501.9% during the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 304,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,517,000 after acquiring an additional 254,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Stephens increased their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $5.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $83.61. 4,424,349 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,329,277. The company has a market cap of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.38. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $58.28 and a 52 week high of $83.73. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm 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 business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

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.