Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,497,100 shares of the company's stock after selling 303,807 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.13% of Fastenal worth $464,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 497.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company's stock worth $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company's stock worth $47,522,000 after acquiring an additional 737,833 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Fastenal by 19.9% in the second 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 period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company's stock worth $250,617,000 after purchasing an additional 569,118 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Fastenal Stock Down 0.6 %
NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $83.10. The stock had a trading volume of 2,757,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,336,677. 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $59.00 and a 1-year high of $83.80. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $72.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.48.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for 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%. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.33.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Fastenal
Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal
In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. 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. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,261 shares of company stock valued at $13,874,979 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Fastenal
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Before you consider Fastenal, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Fastenal wasn't on the list.
While Fastenal currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Which stocks are major institutional investors including hedge funds and endowments buying in today's market? Click the link below and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of thirteen stocks that institutional investors are buying up as quickly as they can.
Get This Free Report
