HighTower Advisors LLC Has $15.44 Million Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 216,851 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $15,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 70.5% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 131,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,369,000 after purchasing an additional 54,228 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 24,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,262,000 after purchasing an additional 507,364 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at about $909,000. Finally, Alethea Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $81.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.00. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.33 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.72. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were 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 have sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FAST. Stephens increased their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Eight 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, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.80.

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.