Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stake Raised by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 70.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,187 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,228 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP's holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,259,000 after acquiring an additional 11,436 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,643,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.65 on Wednesday, reaching $82.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,440,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,261,468. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $60.16 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.07 billion, a PE ratio of 40.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.24 and a 200-day moving average of $70.64.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 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.