Thomas Story & Son LLC Grows Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Thomas Story & Son LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 99.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 166,880 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,390 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises approximately 2.7% of Thomas Story & Son LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after buying an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% during the second 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 buying an additional 16,308,254 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 103.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,849,000 after acquiring an additional 4,950,503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $40.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $35.31 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 4.26.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share 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%.Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.