Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 74.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,987 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,351 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth approximately $747,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,126,000 after buying an additional 58,726 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $1,078,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 205.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 18,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Fastenal by 499.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,186,000 after acquiring an additional 110,027 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $71.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $53.94 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $68.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.43.

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.