Natixis Grows Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Natixis raised its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 194.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,772 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,934 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 103.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after buying an additional 23,380,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after buying an additional 18,329,847 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Fastenal by 87.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,743,000 after buying an additional 16,308,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $638,648,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,800. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 3,000 shares of company stock worth $131,630 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.00.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $40.93 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.39. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $46.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.89.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.Fastenal’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

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.