Railway Pension Investments Ltd Boosts Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 85.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,860,110 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 855,755 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd owned approximately 0.16% of Fastenal worth $78,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 86.6% in the second quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 5,355 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.5% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 911,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,279,000 after buying an additional 456,827 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 78.2% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,333,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,995,000 after buying an additional 1,024,174 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Fastenal by 102.9% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,352,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193,329 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in Fastenal by 40.7% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 239,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,076,000 after acquiring an additional 69,435 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.32.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $40.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.39. The company has a market cap of $46.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.24%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 3,000 shares of company stock worth $131,630 over the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.