Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 507,364 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 1,789.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 535,723 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 507,364 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned 0.09% of Fastenal worth $38,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,334,000 after buying an additional 193,734 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.0% in the third 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 buying an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 1.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company's stock worth $293,179,000 after buying an additional 66,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,469,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $319,221,000 after acquiring an additional 48,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.89 on Monday, hitting $82.67. 2,573,580 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,272,234. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $47.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $59.49 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.34.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Stephens lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.