Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Buys 1,246 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 34.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,895 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,179,000 after purchasing an additional 66,130 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,794,000 after purchasing an additional 517,172 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,617,000 after acquiring an additional 569,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $78.09 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $44.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $58.23 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.38.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

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.