Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 17,256 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,716,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,256 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up about 1.6% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $122,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after purchasing an additional 737,833 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after purchasing an additional 569,118 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated 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 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,261 shares of company stock valued at $13,874,979 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. 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 for the company. Stephens boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven equities 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $83.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.61 billion, a PE ratio of 41.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $59.00 and a twelve month high of $83.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given 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 yield of 1.88%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

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.