National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,449 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,924 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.10% of Fastenal worth $11,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Fastenal by 0.3% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its position in Fastenal by 1.1% in the second quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 5,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Suntrust Banks Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 0.8% in the first quarter. Suntrust Banks Inc. now owns 9,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% in the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 6,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cleararc Capital Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.3% in the first quarter. Cleararc Capital Inc. now owns 7,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 83.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Fastenal Company (FAST) opened at 43.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $37.70 and a 1-year high of $52.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.32 and its 200 day moving average is $46.96.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 12th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. Fastenal had a return on equity of 26.86% and a net margin of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post $1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 26th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 70.33%.
Fastenal announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Longbow Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. Credit Suisse Group upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Argus upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Raymond James Financial, Inc. upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.20.
In other news, CFO Holden Lewis bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $43.76 per share, with a total value of $43,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $43,760. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.71 per share, for a total transaction of $25,626.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 3,600 shares of company stock worth $154,256. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Fastenal
Fastenal Company is engaged in wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies. The Company is engaged in fastener distribution, and non-fastener maintenance and supply business. As of December 31, 2016, it distributed these supplies through a network of approximately 2,500 stores. Its customers are in the manufacturing and non-residential construction markets.
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