Everence Capital Management Inc. Has $700,000 Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Everence Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,190 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 6.4% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 49.4% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 41.3% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after buying an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $271,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $226,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.40 on Monday, hitting $77.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,031,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,354,369. 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 fifty day moving average of $69.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a one year low of $56.41 and a one year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal 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.