Bell Bank Sells 469 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Bell Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,846 shares of the company’s stock after selling 469 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. 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 during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.8% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 4.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% during the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $83.62 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.93. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $59.47 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $47.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 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 (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 222,079 shares of company stock worth $16,563,600. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.