Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Purchased by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 15.2%, acquiring an additional 82,979 shares, bringing its total holdings to 629,723 shares worth approximately $48.8 million.
• Fastenal reported earnings of $0.29 per share, exceeding expectations, and registered a revenue of $2.08 billion in its latest quarterly earnings, indicating an 8.6% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.8%, despite a relatively high payout ratio of 84.62%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 629,723 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 82,979 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Fastenal worth $48,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Fastenal by 22.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,312,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,913,000 after buying an additional 614,766 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 21,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 18.6% in the first quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 4,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 40.4% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 77,609 shares of the company's stock worth $6,019,000 after buying an additional 22,331 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 have sold a total of 137,112 shares of company stock valued at $6,304,410 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.45. 4,588,012 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,657,891. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $43.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $32.04 and a 12-month high of $48.54.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 84.62%.

Fastenal Company 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.