Harbour Investments Inc. Raises Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,980 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAST. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,522,000 after purchasing an additional 737,833 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,659,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,794,000 after purchasing an additional 517,172 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 117.1% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 749,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,118,000 after acquiring an additional 404,502 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Stephens lifted 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 lifted their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $82.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.07 billion, a PE ratio of 41.60, a P/E/G 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 has a 12 month low of $59.47 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This represents a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 13.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 230,553 shares of company stock worth $17,269,993. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.