Man Group plc Takes Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Man Group plc bought a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 436,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,944,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth about $892,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,146,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $230,169,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $65,346,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.17.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $51.15 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.69 billion, a PE ratio of 43.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 4.18. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.92.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

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.