ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 782,713 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,723,507 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 782,713 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $229,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,558,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,433,000 after buying an additional 53,888 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,387,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,282,000 after buying an additional 90,095 shares in the last quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $634,000. Finally, Arjuna Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,999,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $44.00 on Tuesday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.77.

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.