75,974 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Bought by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 75,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $859,310,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $646,046,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 243.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,095,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,380,000 after purchasing an additional 8,574,208 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Fastenal by 106.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $51.02 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.12. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $52.92. The company has a market cap of $58.55 billion, a PE ratio of 43.24, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.17.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.