Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE reduced its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 836,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,760 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.07% of Fastenal worth $41,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after acquiring an additional 75,852,223 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 99.6% in the second 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. increased its stake in Fastenal by 103.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,743,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FAST. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Fastenal from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $43.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.18.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $45.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.40. Fastenal Company has a 52-week low of $35.31 and a 52-week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,209,500. This trade represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.