Compass Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Compass Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,279,691 shares of the company’s stock after selling 107,960 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises approximately 3.5% of Compass Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Compass Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Fastenal worth $59,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,196,502,000 after purchasing an additional 631,889 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,898,031,000 after purchasing an additional 919,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,508,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,047 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,307,000 after buying an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Fastenal by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,292,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,969,000 after buying an additional 1,744,193 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.83.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.71 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.57.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.14%.

Fastenal Profile

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.