National Pension Service Acquires 54,048 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

National Pension Service increased its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Rating) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,279,150 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,048 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.22% of Fastenal worth $59,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 82.6% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,437,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460,307 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,298.1% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,663,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544,650 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 118.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,427,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314,106 shares during the period. Echo Street Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $57,056,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $53,751,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.5 %

FAST stock opened at $51.56 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $43.73 and a 1-year high of $60.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 3.96 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 2nd were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 73.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Terry Modock Owen sold 15,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.24, for a total value of $798,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.14.

Fastenal Profile

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Fastenal Co engages in the distribution of fasteners and tools. It also operates hardware stores. The company was founded by Robert A. Kierlin, Michael M. Gostomski, Henry K. McCannon, John D. Remick, and Stephen M. Slaggie in November 1967 and is headquartered in Winona, MN.