Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 97.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,999 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,321 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $522,558,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 8,541.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock worth $131,388,000 after buying an additional 1,674,628 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Fastenal by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,081,620 shares of the company's stock worth $221,600,000 after buying an additional 1,547,319 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Fastenal by 301.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,478,233 shares of the company's stock worth $106,300,000 after buying an additional 1,110,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock worth $526,578,000 after buying an additional 966,629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $768,861.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,987,750. This represents a 27.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 73,116 shares of company stock worth $3,069,670. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens raised their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.64.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $47.75. The stock had a trading volume of 5,507,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,903,187. The company has a market capitalization of $54.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.91, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $48.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.62%.

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.