Van ECK Associates Corp Has $9.98 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 131,493 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,039 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,261 shares of company stock valued at $13,874,979 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $83.57 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $58.28 and a 1-year high of $83.80. 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 $47.88 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.48.

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. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Fastenal Company 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.