GDS Wealth Management Raises Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 96.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,033 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,897 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $496,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 44,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $7,497,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,180,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $39.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.24 and a 200 day moving average of $44.39. The firm has a market cap of $45.40 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

Fastenal Profile

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.