Fastenal Company $FAST Holdings Raised by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,206 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,603 shares during the quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,849,000 after purchasing an additional 4,950,503 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 94.4% during the second quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,517,000 after purchasing an additional 4,513,985 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 107.2% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,530,339 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Fastenal by 90.0% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,934,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc raised its position in Fastenal by 101.0% in the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,419 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of FAST opened at $42.87 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal 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 directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

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.