1832 Asset Management L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,216 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,418 shares during the quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after buying an additional 1,043,529 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $405,513,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,800,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,931,000 after buying an additional 109,028 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Fastenal by 21.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after buying an additional 569,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 46.2% in the first 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 last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC increased their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.37. 2,997,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,382,875. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $53.83 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

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.