MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 18,098 Fastenal Company $FAST

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 18,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 4.8% during the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 5,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 0.8% during the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 33,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 19,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.9%

FAST opened at $43.94 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.06 and a 200-day moving average of $43.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.21%.

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.