Raymond James & Associates Acquires 45,970 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 982,452 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,970 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.17% of Fastenal worth $70,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. 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 objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST traded down $1.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.54. The stock had a trading volume of 4,308,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,366,629. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $56.41 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.93. The firm has a market cap of $43.82 billion, a PE ratio of 38.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 three months, insiders sold 179,373 shares of company stock valued at $13,029,308. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.