Castleark Management LLC Invests $8.23 Million in Fastenal Company $FAST

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 171,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,233,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $5,105,454,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,196,502,000 after acquiring an additional 631,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 2.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FAST. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.17.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $50.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $52.92. The company has a market capitalization of $57.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.64, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.43.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.14%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Company 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.