National Pension Service increased 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 institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 7,042 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter valued at about $191,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 893.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,145,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,832,000 after buying an additional 1,030,536 shares in the last quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.5% in the first quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,332,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,610,000 after buying an additional 68,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.6% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,071,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,683,000 after buying an additional 77,914 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.89% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ FAST) opened at 43.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 0.98. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $37.70 and a 1-year high of $52.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.88.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 12th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post $1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 26th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 24th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.33%.
Fastenal declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 11th that allows the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
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FAST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $50.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, June 12th. Longbow Research upgraded Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, BidaskClub downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Fastenal has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.14.
In other Fastenal news, CFO Holden Lewis acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.51 per share, for a total transaction of $42,510.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,020. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The stock was acquired 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. Insiders acquired 3,600 shares of company stock valued at $154,256 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.
Fastenal Company Profile
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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