Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 210.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,716 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 74,903 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,578,000 after acquiring an additional 966,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,018,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,703,000 after acquiring an additional 116,866 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $49.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $57.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $49.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.08.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.36.

Fastenal Company 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.