Empowered Funds LLC Sells 14,207 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,876 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,207 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.8% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.5% in the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sara Bay Financial grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $81.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.70, a PEG ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.33. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $59.47 and a 52 week high of $84.88.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of Fastenal 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Company 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.