Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the second 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after buying an additional 569,118 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $77.77 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal has a one year low of $56.41 and a one year high of $79.04. The firm has a market cap of $44.53 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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 $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 179,373 shares of company stock valued at $13,029,308 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.