Valley National Advisers Inc. Raises Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 74,605.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,147 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,112 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $75.85 on Friday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $57.01 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $70.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.98. The company has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

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.