LRI Investments LLC Buys 852 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 169.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,355 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $97,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 528.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $79.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $45.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.00. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.33 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.98. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Bank of America initiated 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. raised their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.80.

Fastenal 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.