Bayesian Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 32,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,538,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $405,513,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,800,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,931,000 after acquiring an additional 109,028 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 21.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,248,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,617,000 after acquiring an additional 569,118 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 46.2% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,402 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FAST. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.67.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.14 on Tuesday, reaching $70.65. 1,216,559 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,684,168. Fastenal has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $40.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.28 and a 200 day moving average of $68.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.