LVW Advisors LLC Buys 2,091 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

LVW Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 46.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,599 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,091 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $471,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Fastenal by 3.4% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 66,130 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 13.2% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,794,000 after acquiring an additional 517,172 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares in 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 acquiring an additional 569,118 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.89.

Fastenal Stock Up 9.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $76.82 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.01. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $56.41 and a 12-month high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

About Fastenal

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.