1,059,584 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Acquired by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,059,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,503,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.09% of Fastenal as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,685,754,000 after buying an additional 1,016,479 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.7% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,875,000 after buying an additional 142,972 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Fastenal by 107.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,565,000 after buying an additional 3,530,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 2.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,198,000 after buying an additional 168,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $45.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603 in the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.2%

FAST opened at $42.46 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.83 and a 200-day moving average of $44.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. 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 net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

Fastenal 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.