Curbstone Financial Management Corp Has $1.13 Million Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,814 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,232 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,685,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,479 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,875,000 after acquiring an additional 142,972 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 107.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,530,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,198,000 after acquiring an additional 168,830 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $42.46 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.00.

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

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

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.