Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires 20,791 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,113 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,791 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $8,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $1,020,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,491,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,874,000 after buying an additional 39,406 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 328,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,173,000 after buying an additional 55,191 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 232,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,344,000 after buying an additional 24,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $4,041,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.83.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $45.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.72. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $38.97 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.71 and a 200 day moving average of $45.18.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 81.36%.

Fastenal Company 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.