QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $5.44 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 122.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 129,586 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,383 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 181,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,074,000 after purchasing an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 195,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,180,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 35,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on FAST. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.82.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.88 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.18 and a 200-day moving average of $43.64. The company has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $34.69 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.