Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 104.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,971,285 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,515,896 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $124,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 183.0% during the 2nd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 6,064 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,074,000 after buying an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,180,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on FAST. Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,050. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.3%

FAST opened at $42.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market cap of $49.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.24%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company’s fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers that are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.