Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $857,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $465,667.05. This trade represents a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $83.75. The stock had a trading volume of 3,876,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,291,718. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $76.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.87. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $59.47 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.99. 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens upped their price objective 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, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.80.

About Fastenal

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.