Alta Capital Management LLC Has $3.26 Million Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Alta Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 109.7% during Q2, owning 77,578 shares worth approximately $3.26 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Insiders sold a total of 90,178 shares of Fastenal stock worth about $4.34 million over the last quarter, decreasing their ownership to 0.37%.
• Fastenal reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate by $0.01, while its quarterly revenue was $2.13 billion, consistent with expectations.

Alta Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 109.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,578 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,584 shares during the quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 107.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company's stock worth $286,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,530,339 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 90.0% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,934,558 shares of the company's stock worth $207,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337,187 shares during the period. Fenimore Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 101.0% in the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company's stock worth $157,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,419 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $73,733,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 over the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Northcoast Research started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Stephens lifted their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $42.24 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $48.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $50.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The company's revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 82.24%.

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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