Blair William & Co. IL Raises Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,014,666 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,102 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises 0.8% of Blair William & Co. IL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $281,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,196,502,000 after acquiring an additional 631,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 919,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 685,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $46.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a PE ratio of 40.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.73. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The company’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays set a $46.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.57.

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.