Valley National Advisers Inc. Has $1.87 Million Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 74,605.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,147 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,112 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bristlecone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,786,000 after purchasing an additional 33,025 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 206,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,727,000 after buying an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.85. 2,104,015 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,982,067. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $57.01 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Fastenal's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.