Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 43.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 624,787 shares of the company's stock after selling 472,075 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Fastenal worth $44,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.8% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 22,235 shares of the company's stock worth $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,416,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,176,000 after buying an additional 17,997 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 13,980 shares of the company's stock worth $998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth $921,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,595,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,316,257. The company has a market capitalization of $46.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $74.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.22. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $59.47 and a 12-month high of $84.88. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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