Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Purchased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 911,398 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 456,827 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Fastenal worth $38,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 23,380,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 18,329,847 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $638,648,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,800. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,000. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630 in the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $40.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $35.31 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.42.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

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.