Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Has $626,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,771 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,823 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $78.23 on Friday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $58.23 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.23.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens raised 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. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

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.