Mackenzie Financial Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 102.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,352,497 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,193,329 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $98,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after buying an additional 75,852,223 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 103.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after acquiring an additional 23,380,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 103.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after acquiring an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Fastenal by 87.9% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 16,308,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $638,648,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $40.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.39. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 82.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have bought 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.