Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.80% of Fastenal worth $350,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in Fastenal by 1.8% in the 2nd 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $261,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 63.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Fastenal by 10.6% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This trade represents a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,264.24. This represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $78.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.33 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.28. The company has a market capitalization of $44.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.04, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Fastenal 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.