Quest Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 284.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,619 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,899 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $405,513,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,800,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,931,000 after purchasing an additional 109,028 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after purchasing an additional 569,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,757,000 after buying an additional 1,006,402 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $69.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.