Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Purchases 1,213 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,858 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,402 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after acquiring an additional 737,833 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $37,659,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.89.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 9.8 %

Shares of FAST opened at $76.82 on Monday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $56.41 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.89.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. 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 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.