V Square Quantitative Management LLC Buys 1,930 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,562 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during 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 last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.1% in the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Sara Bay Financial increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Team Hewins LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $77.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $56.41 and a twelve month 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

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.