Fastenal Company $FAST Position Increased by Sara Bay Financial

Key Points

• Sara Bay Financial increased its holdings in Fastenal Company by 94.4%, owning 22,069 shares worth approximately $927,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Fastenal reported $0.29 EPS for the second quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $2.08 billion, an 8.6% year-over-year increase.
• Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares in the last 90 days, with CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski reducing her position by 67.38%.

Sara Bay Financial raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 94.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,069 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,719 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises approximately 0.3% of Sara Bay Financial's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Sara Bay Financial's holdings in Fastenal were worth $927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $496,000. GTS Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 216.7% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 7,432 shares of the company's stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 13,802 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,908 shares of the company's stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,102,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $47.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.08 billion, a PE ratio of 46.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.97. 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.04.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

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.

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