Great West Life Assurance Co. Can Boosts Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 33.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 858,415 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 213,492 shares during the quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $50,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Fastenal by 93.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2,538.1% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 554 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Fastenal by 184.9% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. 78.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.71.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $60.92 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $45.70 and a 12-month high of $61.25. The company has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.81.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 12th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 15.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 6th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 70.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $1,204,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 282,929 shares in the company, valued at $17,035,155.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Terry Modock Owen sold 63,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.24, for a total value of $3,625,123.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $1,204,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 282,929 shares in the company, valued at $17,035,155.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,628 shares of company stock worth $5,867,257. 0.45% of the stock is 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, 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, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.