Fastenal Company $FAST Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 95.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,194,550 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,480,964 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.80% of Fastenal worth $386,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,000. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630 in the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird cut 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, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.32.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $39.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The company has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a PE ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.34. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 82.24%.

Fastenal Company 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.