Caprock Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 59.5% in Q4, buying 24,312 shares to hold 65,155 shares worth about $2.62 million.
• Wall Street's consensus rating is a Hold with a $49.77 price target, reflecting mixed analyst views (5 Buys, 6 Holds, 2 Sells) and several recent target changes.
• Fastenal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share (record/ex-dividend date April 28; payable May 26), equal to a $0.96 annual payout, a 2.1% yield and an 84.21% payout ratio.

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 59.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,155 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,312 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Fastenal by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,558,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,433,000 after purchasing an additional 53,888 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Fastenal by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,713,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,626,000 after purchasing an additional 219,154 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,282,000 after purchasing an additional 90,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $634,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Bank of America increased their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Fastenal from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.77.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $44.69 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $45.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.62. The company has a market cap of $51.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

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

Fastenal Profile

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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