Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,607 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,566 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% in the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $71.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.33 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $41.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.14 and its 200-day moving average is $72.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on FAST. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens boosted their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the company’s 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Holden Lewis sold 30,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.52, for a total transaction of $2,295,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,881 shares in the company, valued at $756,094.12. This represents a 75.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.