28,532 Shares in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Purchased by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 28,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,038,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 5.8% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.5% in the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $78.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.04, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.28. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.33 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. The trade was a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

About Fastenal

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.