Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 915 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 106,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,618,000 after purchasing an additional 41,367 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at about $356,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 18,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 52.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 26,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 9,053 shares during the period. Finally, Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 1,626,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,143,000 after acquiring an additional 19,345 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $83.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.67, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.47 and a twelve month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Stephens boosted their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.80.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal 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.