Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $54.92 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has increased its stake in Fastenal by 103.2%, acquiring 359,635 additional shares to reach a total of 708,191 shares valued at approximately $54.9 million.
• Fastenal's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.29, exceeding expectations, along with a revenue of $2.08 billion—an 8.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company has decided to cut its dividend to a quarterly rate of $0.22, representing an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 84.62%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 103.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 708,191 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 359,635 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.12% of Fastenal worth $54,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter worth $49,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 5,661.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $49.95. 3,477,893 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,510,909. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $32.04 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $57.32 billion, a PE ratio of 47.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $46.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 84.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

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.