Madison Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 209,174 Fastenal Company $FAST

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 209,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,047,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.8% during the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 68,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,749,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 12.9% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 4.8% in the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 5,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.17.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $51.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.21. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $52.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.03 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.28.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.