BNP Paribas Financial Markets Cuts Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,178,073 shares of the company's stock after selling 100,918 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.21% of Fastenal worth $84,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.39 during trading on Thursday, reaching $83.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,021,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,280,606. 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 1-year low of $59.47 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $47.96 billion, a PE ratio of 41.65, a PEG ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.18.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on FAST. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, 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 target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently 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.