Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 1,356,016 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 72.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 505,955 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,356,016 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Fastenal worth $36,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the second 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 last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Fastenal by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,794,000 after purchasing an additional 517,172 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company's stock worth $250,617,000 after buying an additional 569,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $1.02 on Monday, hitting $84.35. 2,165,994 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,330,120. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $59.47 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 41.46, a PEG ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Fastenal 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.