American Century Companies Inc. Buys 1,707,396 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 90.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,590,292 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,707,396 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.31% of Fastenal worth $176,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 27,107,520 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 103.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 103.8% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Fastenal by 87.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after buying an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Fastenal from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.27.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8%

FAST stock opened at $46.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 2.41. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.36.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This trade represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.