Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Purchased by Okabena Investment Services Inc.

Okabena Investment Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 140.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,912 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,140 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $229,000. Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 183.0% during the second quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 6,064 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,265,119,000 after buying an additional 75,852,223 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 100.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 6,863 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $198,000. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.32.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $40.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The company has a market cap of $46.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.42.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 82.24%.

About Fastenal

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.