QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 22.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,575 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,259 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,522,000 after purchasing an additional 737,833 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after purchasing an additional 636,546 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $37,659,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after buying an additional 569,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 190,261 shares of company stock valued at $13,874,979. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens raised their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $78.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $44.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $58.23 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.35 and its 200-day moving average is $68.38.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.