Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Acquired by CW Advisors LLC

CW Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6,111.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 219,388 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 215,856 shares during the quarter. CW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after acquiring an additional 75,852,223 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 103.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Fastenal by 87.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,743,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at $638,648,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,800. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 3,000 shares of company stock worth $131,630. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of FAST opened at $41.75 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $47.93 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 4.26.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.32.

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.