Legal & General Group Plc Has $443.53 Million Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,044,340 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150,210 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $443,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Fastenal by 99.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,330,000 after purchasing an additional 27,107,520 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after buying an additional 23,380,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 141.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,973,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,898,000 after buying an additional 9,370,909 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.83.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.1%

FAST stock opened at $46.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.88. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $44.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 87.27%.

About Fastenal

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.