Inspire Investing LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1,023.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,784 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,486 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,196,502,000 after purchasing an additional 631,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 919,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.9% during the fourth 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after buying an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $646,046,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays set a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.57.

Fastenal Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of FAST opened at $44.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.38. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The stock has a market cap of $51.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.21%.

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.