Rise Advisors LLC Purchases 307 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 33.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,235 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $95,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,957,000 after acquiring an additional 337,168 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,529 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Fastenal by 5.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,444,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,767,000 after purchasing an additional 413,572 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 16.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after buying an additional 957,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 9.3% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,651,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,445,000 after buying an additional 568,372 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC upped their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $64.94 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $53.83 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $37.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Fastenal

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.