Valley National Advisers Inc. Sells 52,166 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Valley National Advisers Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 97.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,166 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $80,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $496,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 708,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,920,000 after buying an additional 359,635 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.2% in the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 9,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.9% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 12,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays cut their price target on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.73.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $41.56 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.89. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,000. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.