Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,243 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $287,000. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter valued at approximately $11,212,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 84.5% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 12.0% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 76,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,939,000 after buying an additional 8,226 shares during the period. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 14.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock worth $19,240,434. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $81.85 on Friday. Fastenal has a one year low of $59.47 and a one year high of $84.88. 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 firm has a market cap of $46.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.13.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.