Rhumbline Advisers Has $121.90 Million Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Rhumbline Advisers cut its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,485,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,609 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.22% of Fastenal worth $121,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Fastenal by 99.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,330,000 after buying an additional 27,107,520 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,931,830,000 after buying an additional 23,380,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after acquiring an additional 18,329,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after acquiring an additional 16,308,254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays set a $43.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.18.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of FAST opened at $47.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 4.85. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.44.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 87.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,000. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,209,500. This represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Company 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.