Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Makes New $4.28 Million Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 59,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,275,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. State Street Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company's stock worth $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,419,690,000 after buying an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company's stock worth $371,334,000 after buying an additional 193,734 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company's stock worth $293,179,000 after acquiring an additional 66,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This trade represents a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.80.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.05. 2,581,957 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,261,016. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.00. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.33 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.85. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 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 analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid 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 1.92%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

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.