Everence Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,120 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after buying an additional 737,833 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Fastenal by 19.9% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after acquiring an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,639,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of FAST opened at $71.69 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.34. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.33 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 payout ratio is 77.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on FAST. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.40.

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.