National Pension Service Buys 74,688 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 11.1% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.13%, valued at $57.84 million.
• Fastenal recently reported earnings of $0.29 per share, surpassing estimates, and showed an 8.6% year-over-year revenue growth to $2.08 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.8%, set to be paid on August 26th.

National Pension Service increased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 745,885 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,688 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.13% of Fastenal worth $57,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company's stock worth $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 74,903 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock worth $526,578,000 after acquiring an additional 966,629 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,018,546 shares of the company's stock worth $504,703,000 after acquiring an additional 116,866 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $49.11. 4,539,542 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,605,729. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.22, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $32.04 and a one year high of $49.26.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Wolfe Research reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens upped their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Fastenal Company 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.