Fastenal Company $FAST Stake Raised by National Pension Service

National Pension Service grew its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,648,147 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,297 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $79,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 68,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 12.9% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $49.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 4.18. The company has a market cap of $56.59 billion, a PE ratio of 41.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.82 and a 200-day moving average of $46.70. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $52.92.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 88.14%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.17.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies. The company provides fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and related hardware, along with safety products, tools, material-handling equipment, welding supplies, janitorial products and other maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials.

Fastenal serves manufacturers, construction companies, contractors, government organizations and other commercial customers. Its offerings are delivered through a network of branch locations, customer-specific onsite operations, industrial vending machines, e-commerce platforms and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage inventory and reduce procurement time.

Founded in 1967 by Bob Kierlin in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has expanded from a regional fastener supplier into an international industrial distributor.