Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,399,192 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,865 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.24% of Fastenal worth $90,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $405,513,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,344,000 after buying an additional 1,505,936 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,179,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,163,000 after buying an additional 1,002,004 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,563,000 after buying an additional 957,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,600,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,435,000 after buying an additional 711,265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $65.80 on Friday. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.86 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.33.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.