MAI Capital Management Increases Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

MAI Capital Management grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 514.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,840 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 142,180 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after buying an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Fastenal by 99.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,330,000 after purchasing an additional 27,107,520 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 103.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 103.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 87.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308,254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $43.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.18.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.4%

FAST opened at $45.68 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.40. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $52.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.27%.

Fastenal Company 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.