Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. Grows Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,367 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,380 shares during the quarter. Fastenal accounts for approximately 0.3% of Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,522,000 after acquiring an additional 737,833 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock opened at $72.89 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $41.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.73.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $465,667.05. The trade was a 73.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,702 shares of company stock worth $7,534,580. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.