Clark & Stuart Inc Takes Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 114,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,220,000. Fastenal accounts for 6.0% of Clark & Stuart Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after buying an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 1.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 3.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 5.0% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. HSBC downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $71.63 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.60 and its 200 day moving average is $72.66.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Nicholas J. Lundquist sold 22,532 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.15, for a total transaction of $1,738,343.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 426,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,865,900. The trade was a 5.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,234 shares of company stock valued at $9,272,924 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.