Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 400,113 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,815 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $19,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 99.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,330,000 after buying an additional 27,107,520 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 23,380,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 103.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,141,000 after acquiring an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Fastenal by 87.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,743,000 after acquiring an additional 16,308,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Barclays set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fastenal from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.18.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.41 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.42. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 4.85. The firm has a market cap of $53.29 billion, a PE ratio of 42.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.89.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 87.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.