Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Holdings Raised by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 305,506 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,889 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $15,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3,882.1% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $386,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super grew its holdings in Fastenal by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super now owns 760,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,691,000 after acquiring an additional 171,906 shares during the last quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,414,000. Finally, Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $121,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $53.21 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.66. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $53.86.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. DA Davidson set a $51.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.46.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.