Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Purchased by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Envestnet Asset Management raised its Fastenal stake by 0.5% to 10.35 million shares, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 81.38% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Fastenal has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $49.50, with recent targets ranging from $46 to $52.
• Operating results and shareholder returns strengthened: Quarterly revenue rose 14.7% year over year to $2.39 billion, while EPS matched estimates at $0.33. Fastenal also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, implying a 2.0% yield.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,347,343 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,335 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.90% of Fastenal worth $496,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,105,454,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,417,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,041,000. National Pension Service increased its position in Fastenal by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,603,839 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,362,000 after acquiring an additional 45,260 shares during the period. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Fastenal by 780.2% in the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,146,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,811 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.50.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $50.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business's 50-day moving average price is $49.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.91. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $52.92. The firm has a market cap of $58.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.21, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. Fastenal's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 88.14%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company NASDAQ: FAST is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies. The company provides fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and related hardware, along with safety products, tools, material-handling equipment, welding supplies, janitorial products and other maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials.

Fastenal serves manufacturers, construction companies, contractors, government organizations and other commercial customers. Its offerings are delivered through a network of branch locations, customer-specific onsite operations, industrial vending machines, e-commerce platforms and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage inventory and reduce procurement time.

Founded in 1967 by Bob Kierlin in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has expanded from a regional fastener supplier into an international industrial distributor.

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