Fastenal Company $FAST Holdings Raised by Curbstone Financial Management Corp

Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 97.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,814 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,232 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Fastenal by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,817,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $42.46 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.68, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.94.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Profile

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.