Allstate Corp Has $3.46 Million Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its Fastenal stake in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 44,209 shares to bring its total holdings to 86,319 shares valued at about $3.46 million.
• Fastenal reported quarterly earnings of $0.30 per share, matching estimates, while revenue rose 12.4% year over year to $2.20 billion and slightly topped expectations.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.77; the stock also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding about 2.1%.

Allstate Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 105.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,319 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,209 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company's stock worth $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company's stock worth $893,307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,116 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,604,974 shares of the company's stock worth $765,268,000 after acquiring an additional 173,581 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,276,145 shares of the company's stock worth $405,860,000 after acquiring an additional 26,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,282,000 after buying an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $44.82 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $51.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.80.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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