Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,900 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial & Investment Management Group Ltd. raised its position in Fastenal by 16.8% in the first quarter. Financial & Investment Management Group Ltd. now owns 26,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 3,828 shares during the last quarter. Parametrica Management Ltd bought a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $452,000. TNB Financial bought a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $270,000. CrestPoint Capital Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 97.2% in the first quarter. CrestPoint Capital Management LLC now owns 35,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,839,000 after buying an additional 17,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Fastenal by 8.6% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 230,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,882,000 after buying an additional 18,291 shares during the last quarter. 82.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) traded up 2.33% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,097,045 shares. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.88. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $37.70 and a 52 week high of $52.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97 and a beta of 0.98.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post $1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Fastenal declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 11th that permits the company to buyback 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.33%.
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS AG raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. BidaskClub lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.14.
In other news, CFO Holden Lewis purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.76 per share, for a total transaction of $43,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $43,760. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 quarter, insiders have bought 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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