IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 112.2%, acquiring an additional 117,671 shares during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total holdings to 222,538 shares valued at approximately $9.35 million.
• Fastenal's stock has seen significant institutional interest, with over 81.38% of its shares currently held by institutional investors, including major firms like Vanguard and Charles Schwab.
• Fastenal recently raised its earnings per share forecast to $0.29 for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, while also announcing a $0.22 quarterly dividend, reflecting a yield of 1.8%.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 112.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 222,538 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 117,671 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Fastenal were worth $9,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,817,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $47.58. 13,747,553 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,443,559. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $34.69 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.93. The stock has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders 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 currently 84.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value 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 $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.