Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,683,751 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.91% of Fastenal worth $1,188,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,972 shares of the company's stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,998 shares of the company's stock worth $13,259,000 after purchasing an additional 11,436 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3,788.3% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 7,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 7,122 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 69.1% in the 2nd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 5,088 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 347,959 shares of the company's stock worth $21,866,000 after buying an additional 6,251 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens lifted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock traded down $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $79.26. 2,522,898 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,247,634. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.33 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.98 and a 200-day moving average of $71.08. The firm has a market cap of $45.41 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Fastenal Company 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.