Fastenal Company $FAST is Caledonia Investments PLC's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Caledonia Investments PLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter, making it the company's 7th largest position, with a total of 1,436,112 shares valued at approximately $60.3 million.
• Fastenal recently reported earnings per share of $0.29, beating analyst expectations of $0.28, while also showing an 8.6% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company cut its dividend to $0.22 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 84.62% as of the recent disclosure.

Caledonia Investments PLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,436,112 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 718,056 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises approximately 5.9% of Caledonia Investments PLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Caledonia Investments PLC owned about 0.13% of Fastenal worth $60,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in Fastenal by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group increased its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 696 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 4,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 842 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3%

FAST opened at $48.87 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.35. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 over the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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