Bank of Montreal Can Lowers Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 43.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,438,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,892,605 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.21% of Fastenal worth $119,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% in the 2nd 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 boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 99.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,330,000 after purchasing an additional 27,107,520 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% during the 2nd 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 increased 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 purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $638,648,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Fastenal from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on Fastenal from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.83.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $46.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.35, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.21. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.85, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.