Fastenal Company $FAST Position Raised by Beck Mack & Oliver LLC

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 183.0% in the 2nd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 6,064 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 75,852,223 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 100.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 6,863 shares during the period. Finally, Element Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth $2,744,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. 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. Wolfe Research raised 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, Barclays cut their target price on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 represents a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 3,000 shares of company stock worth $131,630. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $42.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 4.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.26, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.89. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.38.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.24%.

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.