SRN Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

SRN Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,397 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 678 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $405,513,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 497.3% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $195,459,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2 %

FAST traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $67.30. 3,847,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,602,243. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.54 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

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.