Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Reduces Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lessened its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,018 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,282 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company's stock worth $371,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,734 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company's stock worth $293,179,000 after purchasing an additional 66,130 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,469,636 shares of the company's stock worth $319,221,000 after purchasing an additional 48,977 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Fastenal by 19.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.9% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,190,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,506,000 after buying an additional 91,411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.82 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.87 billion, a PE ratio of 40.71, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.47 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.51.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.80.

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.