RK Asset Management LLC Has $5.07 Million Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

RK Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,043 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Fastenal makes up about 3.9% of RK Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. RK Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $747,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 98.6% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,126,000 after purchasing an additional 58,726 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,078,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 205.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 18,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 499.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,186,000 after purchasing an additional 110,027 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.3 %

FAST traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $70.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,386,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,344,285. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $55.42 and a 1-year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.63.

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.