Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Trims Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. lowered its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 27.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,983 shares during the period. Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.76 on Friday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.05 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $46.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.80.

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.