3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Takes $274,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FAST. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $93,000. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.8% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 8,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 32.9% during the third quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 30,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 7,608 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 55.8% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 7.9% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 573,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,361,000 after purchasing an additional 42,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.78. 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,775,545. Fastenal has a one year low of $52.86 and a one year high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

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.