Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $7.62 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 63.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,667 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 41,367 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of 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 14.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,264.24. The trade was a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $83.71 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $77.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.08. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $59.47 and a 52-week 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 company has a market cap of $47.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.