Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 366,357 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 37,640 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Fastenal worth $26,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.05. The stock had a trading volume of 2,581,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,261,016. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.33 and a one year high of $84.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.80.

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.