Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Grows Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,219 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 1,789.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 535,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,262,000 after purchasing an additional 507,364 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 928,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,305,000 after purchasing an additional 345,537 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,772 shares of company stock valued at $5,365,455. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $74.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.61. The firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.21, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.