Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,469,636 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,977 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises about 0.6% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $319,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.1% in the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $81.85 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.23. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $59.47 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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. Insiders have sold 254,033 shares of company stock valued at $19,240,434 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

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.