171,420 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Acquired by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FASTFree Report) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 171,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,233,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on Fastenal in a report on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.17.

Read Our Latest Report on Fastenal

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $50.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 4.18. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.43. The company has a market capitalization of $57.73 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FASTGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FAST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FASTFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

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