Fastenal Company $FAST Stock Position Lifted by Harfst & Associates Inc.

Harfst & Associates Inc. grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 86.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,464 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,504 shares during the quarter. Fastenal makes up approximately 0.5% of Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 103.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after buying an additional 23,380,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after buying an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Fastenal by 87.9% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,849,000 after acquiring an additional 4,950,503 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on FAST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.32.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $40.30 on Thursday. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $35.31 and a 52-week high of $50.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.39.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 82.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,000. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Fastenal

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.