Fastenal Company $FAST Holdings Lifted by Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.

Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 288,897 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,754 shares during the period. Fastenal accounts for 1.3% of Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Matrix Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.5% in the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 46,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 7.1% during the third quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 23.1% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 7,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its position in Fastenal by 1,073.1% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 203,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,092,000 after purchasing an additional 186,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 5.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 163,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,836,000 after purchasing an additional 9,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of Fastenal 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 transaction, the director owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.50.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.33. 1,689,117 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,777,142. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.05 and its 200 day moving average is $47.19. The company has a market capitalization of $57.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.67, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.69. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $52.92. The company has a current ratio of 4.18, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies serving businesses, contractors, manufacturers and other organizations. Its product offerings include fasteners such as bolts, nuts and screws, as well as safety equipment, tools, cutting tools, material-handling products, electrical and plumbing supplies, and maintenance and repair items.

The company sells products through a network of branch locations, onsite customer facilities, industrial vending machines and digital platforms.