200,326 Shares in Fastenal Company $FAST Purchased by CIBC Bancorp USA Inc.

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 200,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,824,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $496,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 64.5% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 56,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 22,308 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at about $215,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 14.3% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 137,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,779,000 after purchasing an additional 17,221 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $43.76 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.85, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.27 and a 200 day moving average of $44.01.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 87.27%.

About Fastenal

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.