Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Bought by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,671 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,316 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,179,000 after buying an additional 66,130 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Fastenal by 13.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,794,000 after acquiring an additional 517,172 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,617,000 after purchasing an additional 569,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $75.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.74 and a 200-day moving average of $68.04. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $57.01 and a 1 year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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 $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal 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 value of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 179,373 shares of company stock valued at $13,029,308 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

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.