Bank of Montreal Can Has $181.89 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 88.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,330,811 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,038,089 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $181,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $229,000. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 183.0% in the 2nd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 6,064 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,074,000 after acquiring an additional 12,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,180,000 after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $41.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,050. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Wolfe Research restated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.