iA Global Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 46.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,691 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $6,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,179,000 after purchasing an additional 66,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $81.05 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.85. The stock has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.00. 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 has a 12 month low of $61.33 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.