Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,044 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $2,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 2,172.2% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 283.2% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.80.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $62.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.64. The company has a market capitalization of $35.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.23%.

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.