Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,572,999 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.80% of Fastenal worth $350,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 347,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,866,000 after purchasing an additional 6,251 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $261,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 63.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,699 shares of the company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 10.6% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut Fastenal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of FAST traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $78.47. 2,387,306 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,238,986. The company has a market capitalization of $44.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.33 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.28.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Company 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.