25,052 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Bought by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 25,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Fastenal by 99.6% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% during the 2nd 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. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $43.89 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $50.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 29th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $43.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought 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 owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal 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.