Holocene Advisors LP Acquires 54,228 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 70.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,187 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,228 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 528.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $82.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $60.16 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.56. The company has a market capitalization of $47.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

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.