Advocate Group LLC Has $1.51 Million Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Advocate Group LLC significantly increased its stake in Fastenal by 94.3%, now holding 35,942 shares valued at approximately $1.51 million.
• Fastenal's quarterly earnings report showed an 8.6% revenue increase year-over-year, with earnings per share of $0.29, beating analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22, set to be paid on November 25th, which equates to an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Advocate Group LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 94.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,942 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,446 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock worth $3,817,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 0.4% during the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 0.9% during the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 1.7% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company's stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 2.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "positive" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $45.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $52.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.02, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50 day moving average is $48.26 and its 200-day moving average is $43.91. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

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.

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