Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 108.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 74,611 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,765 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $3,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the second quarter worth $45,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 106.1% in the second quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,287 shares of the company's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 110.7% in the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the company's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares during the period. 25 LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 90.4% in the second quarter. 25 LLC now owns 12,404 shares of the company's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 5,890 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 2,050 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens increased their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.
View Our Latest Research Report on FAST
Fastenal Trading Down 0.6%
NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $34.69 and a one year 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.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.
Fastenal Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 84.62%.
Fastenal Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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