Ballentine Partners LLC Buys 301 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,551 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 2,172.2% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 528.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of FAST stock opened at $75.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.91 and a 200 day moving average of $68.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $57.01 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens raised their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 available through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’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 value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 179,373 shares of company stock valued at $13,029,308. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

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.