National Bank of Canada FI Has $28.66 Million Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 64.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 401,312 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 157,520 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.07% of Fastenal worth $28,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank increased its position in Fastenal by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 109,095 shares of the company's stock worth $6,856,000 after purchasing an additional 8,410 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. Apeiron RIA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,998 shares of the company's stock worth $13,259,000 after purchasing an additional 11,436 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 63,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,007,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.80.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of FAST traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $80.32. 2,841,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,252,177. The company has a market cap of $46.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.98. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.33 and a 12-month high of $84.88. 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 (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

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.