PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Makes New $1.72 Million Investment in Fastenal Company $FAST

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,265,119,000 after acquiring an additional 75,852,223 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Fastenal by 99.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,330,000 after purchasing an additional 27,107,520 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 valued at $1,506,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 87.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

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

Fastenal Stock Down 0.7%

FAST stock opened at $41.70 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.41. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.90.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Fastenal

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.