Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $1.11 Billion Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,660,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,426,006 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,109,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $646,046,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $648,118,000 after acquiring an additional 7,943,217 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1,039.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,593 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $44.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.24, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.87.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.77.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.