20,833 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Purchased by Wallace Hart LLC

Wallace Hart LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 20,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,022,000. Fastenal accounts for 0.8% of Wallace Hart LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 75,852,223 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 99.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,330,000 after acquiring an additional 27,107,520 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 23,380,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after acquiring an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 3.3%

FAST opened at $44.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.42. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $43.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

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.