Eads & Heald Wealth Management Sells 2,128 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Eads & Heald Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,128 shares during the quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 497.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after buying an additional 2,580,478 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after buying an additional 737,833 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% in 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Fastenal by 21.2% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on FAST shares. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $78.23 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.24. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $58.23 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The company has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.01.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,261 shares of company stock valued at $13,874,979 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.