Xponance Inc. Acquires 6,134 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,238 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,134 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 497.3% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,763 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,529 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,757,000 after buying an additional 1,006,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 76.8% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,690,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,513,000 after buying an additional 734,629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.43.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $71.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $41.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $68.13 and its 200-day moving average is $68.38. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $53.94 and a 12-month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company 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.