Czech National Bank Has $8.33 Million Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,654 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,559 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,402 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Fastenal by 4,008.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $69.99 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.00. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $55.42 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.89.

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.