Nicollet Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Nicollet Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,932 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in 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 raised its stake in Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $37,659,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 13.2% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,794,000 after acquiring an additional 517,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 117.1% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 749,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,118,000 after purchasing an additional 404,502 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $81.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.96 and a 200-day moving average of $69.22. The company has a market cap of $46.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $59.47 and a 12-month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,264.24. The trade was a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.