Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Position Raised by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 85.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,179,453 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,002,004 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.38% of Fastenal worth $141,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC lifted their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.76. 1,540,118 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,938,145. Fastenal has a one year low of $52.85 and a one year high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

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.