Legal & General Group Plc Has $352.53 Million Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,784,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259,604 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.77% of Fastenal worth $352,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Field & Main Bank bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $44.45 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $38.97 and a one year high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $51.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.75.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 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 the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.21%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.77.

About Fastenal

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.