Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Holdings Lifted by 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 117.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,306 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,939 shares during the quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in Fastenal by 95.0% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $45.78 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.54 billion, a PE ratio of 44.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.87.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 84.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens boosted their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

Fastenal 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.