Fastenal Company $FAST Position Lifted by Creative Planning

Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 118.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 347,094 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 188,140 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $496,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 97.0% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 9,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 4,560 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 97.2% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 24,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,939,000 after acquiring an additional 12,321 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 44,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 2,054 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.9%

Fastenal stock opened at $39.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.10, 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.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released 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). 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.