Whittier Trust Co. Grows Stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,684 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $405,513,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,478 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $195,459,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,566,000 after buying an additional 1,420,763 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $513,510,000 after buying an additional 1,043,529 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 $67.50 on Friday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.