Donaldson Capital Management LLC Has $72.59 Million Stock Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,480,205 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,843 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises 2.3% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Donaldson Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Fastenal worth $72,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after acquiring an additional 75,852,223 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 99.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,330,000 after acquiring an additional 27,107,520 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 16,308,254 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $43.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $43.36 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $49.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.90. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,209,500. This represents a 24.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.