Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 2,601 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 285,239 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,601 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $20,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 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. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America started 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $78.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $58.23 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.35 and its 200 day moving average is $68.38.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

About Fastenal

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.