BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 14,111 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp cut its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,540 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,111 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America assumed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $0.14 on Tuesday, reaching $82.81. 2,283,413 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,264,991. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.01 and a 200-day moving average of $70.56. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $60.16 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $47.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.20, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. The trade was a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

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.