Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV Boosts Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 100.3% during the second quarter, owning a total of 17,142 shares valued at approximately $720,000.
• Insiders at Fastenal have recently sold a total of 111,230 shares valued at over $5 million, indicating significant insider trading activity.
• Fastenal reported a net margin of 15.30% and a revenue increase of 8.6% year-over-year for the latest quarter, outperforming analyst estimates.

Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,142 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,583 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV's holdings in Fastenal were worth $720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Fastenal by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,817,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,142,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $48.70 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $48.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.19. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research restated a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

About Fastenal

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.

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