Morningstar Investment Management LLC Invests $232,000 in Fastenal Company $FAST

Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 107.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,565,000 after buying an additional 3,530,339 shares during the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 101.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,404,000 after buying an additional 1,883,419 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in 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 buying an additional 1,850,871 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $73,733,000. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 97.5% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,760,000 after buying an additional 1,619,507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $42.75 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.96. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $49.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

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.