Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Buys 990,085 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 99.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,982,521 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 990,085 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.17% of Fastenal worth $83,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after buying an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Fastenal by 87.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,743,000 after buying an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,849,000 after acquiring an additional 4,950,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 94.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,517,000 after acquiring an additional 4,513,985 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Baird R W raised Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,000. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $39.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.92 and its 200 day moving average is $44.34. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63. The firm has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.30, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

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.